Harry Potter and the Silent Attack
by hannahdris
Summary: A now AU story about Harry's 5th year, when danger is hidden right under everybody's nose. Not currently being written, but e-mail if you want me to.
1. Introduction and Disclaimer

Harry Potter and the Silent Attack

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling (DUH!!). I do not own any of the characters, objects, scenarios, ect. that appear in her books. I do own, however, any characters you do not know, along with any new ideas. On occasion, I may use something that neither I nor J.K. own, and I will give credit where it is due.

This is an AU story about Harry's fifth year. I started this long before Order of the Phoenix came out, so there's not a whole lot I can do at this point to modernize it.

Harry returns to his fifth year at Hogwarts, knowing that Voldemort is out there, alive and well. But, as he discovers, there is nothing that he can do, except prepare, and preparation can only do so much. At Hogwarts, the students go about their normal lives, most of their worries eased by the presence of both Dumbledore and Fudge. Little do they know that as look outside of Hogwarts for Voldemort and his death eaters, their biggest threat is the one right under their noses.

I am currently in the process of reformatting and re-editing the story. This is why some of the earlier chapters are in a different format than the later ones.

Oh, and I can't stress one thing enough: Review, REVIEW, **REVIEW!** It lets me know that there are people out there reading my story. At this point, I don't even care if you flame me, as long as you click that little "Go" button next to "Submit review," type something, and press ((send)).

But, without further ado, I present to you, Harry Potter and the Silent Attack.


	2. Friends of Old

A/N - Sorry for the delay on putting this chapter up. I had a few technical difficulties that prevented me from adding the chapter. My deepest apologies to anybody who wanted to read my story but found that it wasn't there (esp. you, Herculeha).

Chapter One - Friends of Old

In the south of England, no more than ten miles from the channel, stood a large house, where the sun never seemed to shine. It was old, and in desperate need of repair. Nobody could figure out when it was built, because nobody could remember a time when it wasn't there. They couldn't even remember a time that it didn't look old. The only thing that people knew about the house was that it was old, and it was haunted. 

There was no doubt in the nearby town of that. Anybody who dared go near that house was doomed to die. One night, a crazy kid dared to throw a stone at the house and broke a window; he was found dead in his bed the next morning. Another night, a bunch of punks dared one of their members to go up to the porch. Although they were drunk, they swear that the guy dropped dead right there on the porch. The next morning, when the police looked at the porch (from a safe distance), his body was nowhere to be found.

Perhaps the most terrifying incident was when five boys made a combined dare. They all entered the house, together, one night. Terrified screams were heard from the house for only a moment, and then the house was silent again. The boys were never seen again, and nobody dared to search the house for their remains.

Needless to say, it only took a few incidents until the house was left in peace, with no danger of interruptions. The lawn was long and dead, and where there must have been a garden at some point in time, there were dead weeds. The paint was peeling off, and what shutters hadn't already fallen off looked like there were going to very soon.

What nobody knew was that inside the house, there were living people. They were not your everyday, ordinary people, but people none the less. They even lived a rather luxurious life, for what it was worth. They had house elves run the place, and it actually wasn't half-bad.

One summer evening, an elf walked into the kitchen with a note. At first, nobody was surprised. The Master never spoke to them directly; he just wrote notes. It was his way of separating himself from the elves. It made them seem like lesser beings, if he didn't talk to them. But as the note circulated, the house elves knew that this was no ordinary note.

This note said that the _other_ Master would be returning that evening. That Master had not been in the house in over fifteen years. The elves were not sure what to do. After much discussion, they decided that for the evening's tea, they would prepare his favorite tea, and hope that it was still his favorite. The only other thing they did that was different was to put two tea cups on the tray as an elf carried it out, instead of one.

The elf entered the parlor, where the Master liked to drink his evening tea. The Master sat in one of two armchairs that faced the fireplace, which held a green fire that gave off no smoke. The elf sat down the tray on a small table between the two chairs. He turned one of the cups up and poured the tea from the kettle. The elf then left without a word.

The Master waited until the elf had left the room before he picked up his tea. As he stared into the fire, he heard the door open and close. A man entered the house, threw his cloak at a waiting house elf, entered the parlor, and sat down in the other armchair. It wasn't until he had poured his tea that either of them spoke.

"It's about time, Tom," the first man said. "I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me."

Tom said nothing for a moment, then, "You know I couldn't have, Mike." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "It's been a long time."

"Yes it has, and you're only here because of me." Mike sipped his tea. "You haven't been doing a very good job since you went public."

Tom laughed. "If you call what I've done bad, I don't know what you'd call what you've done. Besides, it's done more good than bad. I've rounded up a whole group of people who will act under me. They have the same beliefs as we do, but they needed a little organization to get together and act."

"But what have you accomplished in the last fifteen years?" Mike asked. "Almost nothing, if you ask me. If you weren't so stuck on that boy, we might _actually_ accomplish something."

Still calm, but a little irritated, Tom replied, "Then why don't _you_ do something? As far as I can tell, you haven't done anything in the last fifteen years, either. And, you didn't do nearly as much as I did before that."

Mike chuckled. "I thought you'd never ask." He paused for a moment to take a drink. "Even if you didn't, I was going to act, anyway. The window for one of my plans is very short. I only have a few more years left to do it, so I might as well do it this year."

"So, what's your plan? I'm curious to know what you've come up with in the last fifteen years," Tom said with mock curiosity.

"You may mock me now, but you'll be thanking me later. It involves _the child_. They're at Hogwarts, you know. So not only do we have an insider, but they can act, too. Of course, they don't know the plan, but they don't need to. That would probably mess us up, anyway. I'll just feed them information.

"So, they can take care of Number One," Mike continued. "That's the hardest one, anyway. I've arranged for Number Two to spend a considerable amount of time there, too, so the child can take care of him as well." He smiled slyly. "I've also got your man in a reasonably good position, so that at Number Two's demise, he can replace him. I'm also trying to arrange for a suitable replacement for Number One. That is my only difficulty."

"You seem to have it all planned out," Tom commented. "But can you be sure that it will work?"

"The only threat there is, is if the child figures out what they're doing. Despite all I've done, they don't seem to agree with us. It's all disguised, and they aren't too bright. I doubt they would figure it out," Mike said confidently.

"So, what _do_ you plan to do? I mean, I'm just curious as to what this plan is if you have to depend on _the child_." Tom chuckled, and almost snorted into his tea.

"If you must know, I'll be using an Entourer Spell. They've got all year, so it'll be a good job. The hardest one will be the first one. But if I've played my cards right, they can do it before the school year even begins. They're scheduled to meet Number One at Hogwarts later this summer.

Tom pondered this for a moment. "Well, if you're doing that, can I ask you a favor?" Mike nodded. "Can you dispose of the boy, too?"

Mike laughed. "_You're _asking_ me_ to do that? You must be desperate. Well, since I don't have much of a choice, I'll try. I can't guarantee anything, since we might not be able to place the first one, but I'll try. You just have to do the spell itself. I've already wasted a week of my life being out cold and recovering from the two I've already done"

Tom didn't even hesitate to think. "Sure I will. It's just a little boy, so he won't need as much as the other two. What's the date?"

"May nineteenth, at noon," Mike responded.

"May nineteenth…a day that will go down in wizarding history." Tom started laughing, although it was more like cackling. Mike joined in, and a starting storm thundered as well, as though to add to the creepy sound.

Around the world, billions of people were in danger because of this plan, but the world slept on in oblivion.

A/N - Hey! What did you think? Well, regardless of what you thought, please review and let me know. If you liked what you've read, great! Let me know and I'll keep it up. If you didn't like it, let me know and I'll try to improve. And if you were in the middle, review just for the heck of it.


	3. A Very Happy Birthday

A/N - This chapter is a lot longer than my first one. More than twice as long, in fact. Most of my chapters will be longer than the first one, but shorter than this one. I try not to let them run on too long, but sometimes, there isn't a good place to stop it, like this one.

Chapter Two - A Very Happy Birthday

The next morning, a teenage boy was counting away the days until his fifteenth birthday. It was the first time in his life that he was excited about his birthday, and the anxiety was starting to get to him.

Harry sat at the breakfast table, glad that tomorrow would be his birthday. His excitement spread to his face, and his uncle noticed. "Boy!" he yelled at Harry in an angry tone. "Wipe that grin off your face!"

Harry obeyed, although rather reluctantly. His Uncle Vernon had been calling him "Boy" all summer, and was angered at anything that looked like happiness in Harry. It was his most recent attempt to keep Harry feeling low, insignificant, and most of all, unhappy.

Apart from that, the summer hadn't been too bad. One of the neighbors complained that they thought they heard an owl last summer, so Uncle Vernon had to come up with a new plan. He now forbid Harry's owl, Hedwig, to be in the house, or anywhere near it. Fortunately, he couldn't really enforce this rule, because he had to leave Harry's window as openable. He certainly couldn't afford to have any more flying cars at their house. Even so, Harry had asked his owl to stay at his friend, Hermione Granger's house. She didn't own an owl, and thought it might be useful for her to have one.

The only down side was that Harry had to spend most of his time in his room. That wasn't really a change, and he didn't care. He would rather be left alone, anyway. So, with the exception of meals, or if something odd occurred, Harry's uncle, aunt, and cousin ignored him.

That morning started out as any other morning had. Harry was silently eating his slice of a grapefruit, taking a good look at his cousin, Dudley. It was amazing, but Dudley seemed to have lost weight since he had gone on a diet last summer. His bottom, although it still took up the whole chair, did not seem to expand over the edges anymore.

Uncle Vernon took a good look at Harry, and made sure he wasn't happy. Then, he resumed reading his paper. Having finished his food, Harry stood up to go to his room.

"Not so fast, Boy," Vernon said. He held up a letter. "Yesterday, I received _this_ in the mail. It's from some doctors. They want to study you." He tossed Harry the letter. Harry opened it and read:

__

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,

We have recently heard that one Harry Potter, who lives under your care, attends the St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. We are doing a study of the criminal mind this summer, and would be interested in studying Harry. It will begin in the second last week of August, and run for two weeks. We will provide transportation to the study, and to St. Brutus's after the study.

Please let us know if you are interested in allowing Harry to participate in this study. If you are, please return the enclosed form to the indicated address. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Dr. and Dr. Granger

Harry put the letter down. It was obviously the work of his friend, Hermione Granger. She had come up with a creative and unobvious plan to get him away from the Dursley's for two weeks. It also ensured that he would be able to go to Diagon Alley, and get to King's Cross Station to go to school. All he had to do was try to convince Uncle Vernon to let him go to this "study." He figured that the best way to do it was to point out that he would leave them two weeks earlier, and make it sound like he didn't want to go.

"Well," Uncle Vernon said. "What do you think?" He stared at Harry closely, as though he suspected something.

"I guess it means that you won't have to put up with me for two weeks…but I don't think I want to be studied. Besides, how am I going to get to my school?"

At this, Uncle Vernon smiled. "This seems to have more benefits than drawbacks. I think you _should_ be studied. Just, no funny business. And as for your school, you can find your own way there. You're thirteen now, you should be able to take care of yourself."

Harry was tempted to correct his uncle, but knew that he shouldn't push it. He might just ruin Hermione's plan. He watched as Uncle Vernon pulled out the form and began filling it out. Harry stood up and left for his room. Nobody seemed to notice, or care.

Once in his room, Harry pulled out a book, a quill, some ink, and some parchment. Flipping through the book, he read a page or two, and began writing. This was another thing that was better than the previous years. His relatives' ignorance meant that he no longer had to hide his school stuff. He also had a lot of free time to do his homework.

He pulled up a loose floorboard, revealing the one thing he still hid, in case someone ever looked in his room. It was food, sent to him by his friends. Last year, when Dudley began his diet, the Dursleys made everybody abide by it. Harry had written to his friends and complained, and they sent him food to make sure he didn't starve.

This year, he had gotten a lot of meat and bread from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, candy from their son, and Harry's best friend, Ron, and fruits and vegetables from Hermione. All the food was spelled so that it wouldn't go bad, and Harry really appreciated all that his friends did for him.

Eating some bacon, Harry thought about what Hermione had just done for him. He thought it was awfully kind of her, and wondered what life at her house would be like. Fortunately for Harry, the rest of the day passed quickly, and he went to sleep, knowing that when he woke up, he would be a whole year older.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry woke up the next morning feeling very refreshed. He got dressed, and took a good look at himself in the mirror. Harry at fifteen didn't _look_ different from Harry at fourteen, but he felt different, in some way. Staring back at him was his usual pale face with bright green eyes, and jet-black hair that never seemed to stay down.

He felt so happy that he nearly skipped down the stairs to breakfast. But when he reached the bottom, he remembered Uncle Vernon, and replaced his smile with a scowl. 

"Boy!" Uncle Vernon shouted, "I sent off that form. You're getting studied whether you like it or not!"

"But," Harry protested, playing his role almost perfectly.

Uncle Vernon cut him off. "No buts about it, Boy. You're getting studied. And as far as I can tell, your godfather won't be able to get us for it. You'll be with doctors."

Last summer, Harry's aunt and uncle had been terrified of Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. He was accused of murder and became the only person to escape from the wizard prison, Azkaban. He was innocent, but Harry wasn't going to tell _them_ that. It had got them to be decent last year, but was losing its effect. Since Sirius hadn't blown them to bits, liked they'd imagined he might, they started seeing Sirius as less of a threat. Harry gave Uncle Vernon a look of protest, and he saw it. "And for _that_, Boy, you can go to your room! Without any breakfast."

Harry slowly stood up, pretending to be sad and angry, and walked upstairs. As he went, he heard his Aunt Petunia say, "You can have his share of the orange, Dudley dears." Dudley snorted with delight. Harry chuckled to himself. Even if Dudley was loosing weight, he seemed to resemble a pig more and more everyday.

Returning to his room, Harry found a snowy owl waiting outside his window. It was Hedwig. He opened his window, letting the warm air in. He left his window open, because he knew that there would be more owls to come. Hedwig dropped her package on Harry's bed, and she perched on a bedpost.

Harry opened the package, and on top was a letter. It read:

__

Dear Harry,

Happy fifteenth birthday. I hope this year will turn out to be better than all the rest. In this box, I've included your present, the usual food, and a small cake. I wish i could be there personally to give it to you, but some things cannot work out. Thanks again for asking Hegwig stay with me. She's been a real help, keeping me in contact with the world.

It's taken my parents almost this long to figure out why our food seemed to be disappearing faster than we were eating it. When they found out I was sending it to you, I had to tell them about your cousin's diet. They were mad at your aunt and uncle because they said that you looked a bit underweight the last time they saw you, and you need lots of nutrition. They were actually the ones who came up with the plan.

Harry was shocked. Hermione, who was always one to follow the rules, had been doing something behind her parents' back. He laughed at how much she had changed since he first met her, almost four years ago, and returned to the letter:

__

Speaking of the plan, if your aunt and uncle haven't gotten a letter from my parents yet, they should be getting one soon. They're pretending to be interested in studying you because you are a "criminal." I helped them with that part, by telling them about that school that your uncle pretends you go to.

My parents decided that you should stay at our house for the last two weeks before school. I do hope your aunt and uncle agree to let you be "studied." If not, we have a few back-up plans.

Enjoy your birthday and I hope to be receiving that form from your aunt and uncle soon.

Your friend,

Hermione

Harry smiled, glad that Hermione was planning to get him away from the Dursleys. Since both her parents were muggles, or non-magical folk, it was easier for them to take him without angering his aunt and uncle that it was for Ron and his family.

Harry recalled how he had gotten away for the last three years. Once, Ron and his twin brothers Fred and George drove a flying car to Harry's house and took him to their home, the Burrow. The year after that, Harry ran away and took the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley, and he stayed in a room at the Leaky Cauldron. Last year, England was hosting the Quidditch World Cup. Mr. Weasley had gotten tickets, and used Floo powder to get Harry to the Burrow again. Last year had been the best, and the only thing that made this year better was that his aunt and uncle thought they were being mean to him. 

Harry put down the letter and looked into the box. On top was a small cake, just like Hermione said. It looked store bought, but Harry didn't care. It was simply decorated, and read "Happy Birthday Harry." He took the cake out, and put it to the side. The next thing in the box was assorted fruits and vegetables. These he placed under the loose floorboard.

The last thing in the box was wrapped. Harry quickly ripped the paper off it, and nearly gasped. It was a book, titled, "Survivors of Deadly Curses: How They Did It and the Side Effects." Harry hadn't realized that Hermione knew how curious he was about his survival of _Avada Kedavra_, the killing curse. Of course, he was the only one known to have survived, but the book might give some insight from survivors of other curses.

Harry opened the book, and flipped through it. Near the back, he saw his picture, and his name. It told his story, as if anybody in the wizarding world didn't know what he had done. Under the section about how he survived, it only said, "At the time of publication, the reasons for young Mr. Potter's survival are unknown." 

Next to that, Harry saw that Hermione had written something in his book. It said, "Harry's mother sacrificed her life so that he could live. This love of hers created a type of protection that allowed him to survive the curse with only a scar." Harry smiled. Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, had told him that in his first year at the school. He, in turn, had told Ron and Hermione. It was no surprise that the rest of the world was still clueless.

The next section was about the side effects he had suffered from the curse. It listed his lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, how Harry had gotten some of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's power (like being a parselmouth), how the scar hurt when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was angry, thought about killing, or was nearby, and how he sometimes had nightmares about that.

Not really liking to read about himself, Harry closed the book. He was staring out the window when a small figure flew into his room. It turned out to be an owl, but a very small one. He recognized it as Pig, Ron's owl. Pig dropped a large parcel, meaning for it to land on Harry's lap. But Pig mis-timed his release, and the parcel landed on Harry's head.

"Ow," Harry said, rubbing his head. He picked up the package, which was small and light, hoping that there was nothing fragile in it. On top was an envelope. He opened it, and read the letter:

__

Dear Harry,

I hope you're having a happy birthday and a good summer. I certainly have. Fudge just realized that Dad's salary is below W.I.S.H. (Wizarding Income Standard per Household). It is like a wish come true. Fudge found out that with the size of our family, Dad should be getting more money than he's currently getting paid. It's not much, but Dad said that between books and robes, at least one of them won't have to be second hand this year, our pick. I'm definitely going for robes.

I hope Pig made it to your house all right, because there's a lot included in this package. Fred and George want to wish you a happy birthday and thank you for something. They've included a gift for you, and were going to have me write something else, but changed their minds. I'm not sure what you did, but it sounds good. From all the time that Fred and George have spent in their room, I'm not sure i would trust their present.

Mum and Dad asked me to include some chicken and ham. I don't know why, but if they've been doing this all summer, you'd have starved if it weren't for my candy. I've also included some of that. Mum and Dad also have a gift for you.

You know harry, you're really popular in our house. Ginny has a present for you as well. And then, of course, there's my gift. I hope you like it. So this package should have in it four gifts, chicken, ham, and candy. There would also be some cake, but i can't fit it in the box. I'm not sure Pig can carry this, but it's better than Errol.

Your friend,

Ron

P.S. - Pig should be able to get to your house now. Dad put a spell on the package so it will be small and light. I've also managed to include the cake.

Harry was amazed at how much the Weasleys cared for him. Looking into the box, Harry found the meat on top. He put that under the loose floorboard. Under that was the candy, in various assortments. The cake was under the candy. By the looks of it, it was a homemade cake, made by Ron. It didn't look the greatest, but Harry didn't care. It was the thought that counted.

The first of the four presents Harry pulled out was a small package from Ginny. Unwrapping it, Harry found a small box. Inside was a small model of a Hungarian Horntail. Harry was glad to see it, for he had been wondering what happened to it. There was a short note inside as well.

__

Harry,

I found this is Ron's trunk. He must have taken it by mistake. Have a happy birthday.

Ginny

Harry picked up the small dragon and placed it by his clock. Looking at it, he was reminded of Hogwarts. His room seemed more "at home" with the tiny, moving dragon there. It wasn't much of a present, since it was his to begin with, but Harry didn't mind. Maybe Ginny hadn't found it until recently.

Then next gift that Harry pulled out was from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Unwrapping it, he saw that it was a photo album. Opening it up, he found pictures of him, Ron, and Hermione. They were from the past three summers. He didn't remember ever having his picture taken, but was glad for them anyway. Now, he had something to remember his friends by.

Under that was the present from Fred and George. On top, it had a small letter:

__

Dear Harry,

Thanks a lot for what you gave us last June (we won't say what in case Ron reads this). We are using it as you asked us to, and it has really helped. We have yet to fulfil your request, but will do so when we go to Diagon Alley later this summer. Thanks a million, or rather, a thousand.

-Fred and George

P.s. - Our gift isn't a joke. It's as serious as you were when you gave us a certain something earlier this year. Especially the last part of our gift.

Harry chuckled, trying to imagine Fred and George being serious. Last June, Harry had given Fred and George his winnings from the Triwizard tournament: one thousand galleons. He gave it to them so that they could develop their joke shop. Harry knew that with Voldemort restored, Hogwarts was going to be very serious. Harry also knew that the best way to deal with the anxiety and tension was to lighten up, with the help of a few jokes. His only request was that they buy Ron some new dress robes, and say the robes were from them. Ron had suffered with dress robes with frills on them for the last year.

Harry cautiously unwrapped the gift. Underneath it was another layer of wrapping paper. He unwrapped that layer only to find another layer of paper. He ended up going through about ten layers of wrapping paper before he got to a box. Opening the box, he found another box. And in that box, was a box. Five boxes later, he was back to the wrapping paper. The trend seemed to repeat itself, but Harry noticed that the package wasn't getting any smaller.

Although annoying, Harry found this very amusing. It wasn't until he started laughing that he reached the _real_ gift. It was a bunch of papers. The first one was another note:

__

Harry,

Us again. Did you like the wrapping? If you didn't figure it out, you can't get to the real present until you start laughing. It is an example of some of our more creative products that we've been working on recently. The candies were nice, but after a while, people didn't trust us. Now we've developed products that will get people laughing, but not afraid. And thanks a lot for the money. We haven't told a soul, nor plan to. Like we said in the other note, we'll buy Ron some good dress robes when we go to Diagon Alley.

Our gifts are not the most exciting, but we think you'll like them anyway.

Innocently yours,

Fred and George

Harry had to laugh as their closing. Fred and George were far from innocent. Harry looked under the note to see a stack of papers declaring that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was an official business. There was also their business report. It seemed that they were having a rough start. Harry knew that once the summer ended, and the twins could do business without hiding it, business would pick up.

But it was one of the last papers that caused Harry to gasp with shock.

A/N - A little bit of a cliffhanger. But like I said, there wasn't a good place to cut it off. It's a good thing I ended it here, otherwise this chapter would get _really_ long. There's still Ron's gift, along with Hagrid's and Sirius's. 

Okay, side note about Hermione putting a spell on her food so it won't go bad. I'm not sure how she did it, since she's not allowed to do magic over the summer, but she did it somehow. 

Oh, and PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! It's my one connection to my readers. And, if you like my story, SPREAD THE WORD!! There's best thing you can ever do for an author you like is to tell other people about them.


	4. A Special Visit

Chapter Three - A Special Visit

Harry was staring at the last couple papers of the stack. It was a form for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain. Someone had filled it all out except for the signature of the applicant. The words "Applicant's signature" had been highlighted. Harry was looking at the last section, where the applicant needed at least twenty signatures of Gryffindor students for approval. Looking at the list, Harry saw that Fred and George had gotten nearly the entire house to sign it.

Harry walked over to his desk and pulled out a quill and some ink. With a shaking hand, Harry tried to sign the form. But, his hand was shaking too badly. He didn't even understand why. It was a great honor, yes, but he didn't think it was something to loose his cool over. He took a deep breath, and put the quill down. He would sign the form later, when he had calmed down.

He returned to the package. He looked at the size of the package, and the size of everything he had pulled out so far. It was obvious that there was a spell on the box, because there was no way all that stuff could fit it. Plus, there was still one more present left. Pulling it out, Harry knew that it was from Ron.

He carefully unwrapped the gift. It was a case for his wand, along with a cloth spelled to get dirt off the wand easier. Harry had told Ron last year about the wand weighing ceremony for the Triwizard tournament champions. Harry had felt embarrassed because his wand was dirty. Harry pulled out his wand, which was lying in a drawer. He wiped it with the cloth, and it took off a lot of dirt. Harry then put the wand in its new case, folded the cloth, and put it on top of his wand.

Pig was flying around the room, hooting. Harry was surprised that Uncle Vernon hadn't yelled at him yet for all the noise. He took some parchment and hastily scribbled a note.

__

Ron,

I got your package. Tell everyone "Thanks a lot", especially Fred and George. Just so you know, I'll be at Hermione's house for the last two weeks of August. Hope we can go to Diagon Alley at the same time.

-Harry

He folded his note, and gave it to Pig. Pig hooted, and flew out of the room. Harry turned to his own owl and said, "Thank you for waiting, Hedwig." 

She hooted, and Harry gave her a few treats. He then began to write another letter.

__

Hermione,

I got your letters (both of them). My aunt and uncle have "agreed" to let me go. They think they're being mean to me and maybe even preventing me from going to Hogwarts this year. Tell your parents "Thanks" in advance for letting me stay at your house. Thanks also for the food and for your gift.

See you later this summer,

Harry

He folded this letter and gave it to Hedwig. After stroking her soft feathers, and thanking her for understanding why she had to stay with Hermione, Harry motioned to the window. Hedwig took off, and flew towards the horizon. As Harry watched his owl fly off, she passed another owl, headed in the opposite direction. That owl continued flying straight until it flew right into Harry's room. It dropped its package at Harry's feet and perched on a bedpost, waiting for further directions.

On top of the parcel was a letter with green writing. Harry recognized it as his letter from Hogwarts. He opened it, recognizing some of the usual books. He would be needing "The Monster Book of Monsters" again, which was surprising. He thought that the book had caused enough chaos that his Care of Magical Creatures teacher, and Grounds Keeper, Rubeus Hagrid, would keep it off the list for good.

There was an assortment of the usual books: "A Standard Book of Spell Grade 5" by Miranda Goshawk, books for Potions class, books for Charms class, and books for Divination. There was also a few new ones, including "Hogwarts, A History." Harry smiled. For the past four years, Hermione was forever quoting that book, and was always asking Ron and Harry if they had ever read it. It seemed that Hermione learned quite a bit from it and loved to show it off.

Harry also noted that dress robes were also required this year. They had been required last year, the first time for Harry and his friends. It had been because of a dance, the Yule Ball, around Christmas time. Harry thought that the dance must have been such a big hit that Dumbledore decided to have another one this year.

He was looking at a form that would allow him to visit Hogsmeade, an all-wizarding village near Hogwarts, this year, when the phone rang. Harry could hear that Uncle Vernon had answered the phone. After a short conversation, Uncle Vernon started upstairs. Harry quickly hid his food, and Uncle Vernon opened his door. Harry stuffed the whole letter into his pocket.

"Boy!" Uncle Vernon snorted. "Old Mrs. Figg wants to see you at her house. She wouldn't say why, though. Now get!"

Harry went downstairs and out the house. Mrs. Figg was a neighbor of Harry's aunt and uncle who loved cats. She used to watch Harry when the Dursleys wanted to go out, especially on Dudley's birthdays. Harry always hated this because her house always smelled like cabbage and cats, and she was always making him look at pictures of all her cats.

Harry walked down the street, unsure of why Mrs. Figg would want to see him. Harry approached her door and rang the doorbell. After a minute, Mrs. Figg opened it. "Hello, Harry," she said, smiling. "There's someone here who wants to see you."

Before Harry could ask whom, she ushered him into her living room. Sitting there was a thin man, with black hair. He was not emaciated, but still very thin. It also looked like someone had tried to fix his once long and untidy hair, with little success. They did manage to cut it to a reasonable length, though. Harry knew immediately who this was.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, unsure if this could really be his godfather. "What are _you_ doing here?" That was exactly what Harry was thinking, because he had no idea how this innocent accused murderer wizard could end up in the home of his elderly muggle neighbor.

"Harry!" Sirius yelled, excited to see his godson again. Sirius stood up, and hugged Harry. "Dumbledore asked me to visit a few people, Mrs. Figg being one of them. But it wasn't until I got here that I realized how close she lived to you." Harry figured Mrs. Figg must be a witch, but was pretending to be a muggle. There was probably a good reason for it, too, but he couldn't think of any off the top of his head, and thought it would be rude to ask, anyway.

Sirius continued. "I'm afraid I can't tell you why I'm here exactly, but does it really matter?" Harry looked at Sirius, wondering what the answer was. "What really matters is that it's your birthday, and I'd like to celebrate it with you."

Harry's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Sirius nodded. "Why wouldn't I want to? I _am _your godfather, after all."

"It's just that I've never had anyone want to celebrate my birthday with me," Harry explained. "It wasn't until a few years ago that I actually got any decent presents." 

Sirius stared at Harry as though he was crazy. Sirius shrugged, and said, "All the more reason to celebrate it with you."

Sirius picked up a lumpy package from the couch he had been sitting on (the couch, not the package). "It's not much, since I've been spending a lot of time hiding and whatnot. But, I hope you like it."

Harry took the package from Sirius, which was very light. He opened it up to reveal a bunch of feathers. Harry wasn't sure it that was his present or the wizarding equivalent of bubble wrap. But, a quick inspection revealed that the feathers were attached. He carefully pulled them out, to find that the feathers formed a large blanket. Harry smiled, and hugged Sirius. "Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome, Harry," Sirius replied. "It's from Buckbeak, you know." Harry fondly remembered the hippogriff that used to belong to Hagrid. After "attacking" Harry's rival, Draco Malfoy, Buckbeak was condemned to death. But, Harry and Hermione had managed to help him avoid death by letting him serve as Sirius's getaway steed. The two had been travelling with each other since then.

Sirius continued on, "He's molted twice now. His down feathers, the small, fluffy ones, are supposed to be the underside of the blanket. The darker feathers were his outer feathers. They go on top to help keep heat in." Sirius pulled back so he could look into his godson's eyes, which were bright green. "Not much used in the summer, except maybe as a very soft pillow. But I'd bet anything that it'll keep you plenty warm in the winter."

"Thanks," Harry said again. He paused for a moment, admiring his most recent gift. "Speaking of Buckbeak, how's he doing? And where is he?"

"He's been great, even if there hasn't been a lot for us to eat until recently. But, we've got a little problem with him. Arabella, Mrs. Figg to you, doesn't want him in the house. The cats don't like him. But I can't let him stay outside because then the muggles will see him." Sirius sighed, obviously wishing that there was an easy answer to the problem.

Then, Harry got an idea. "I know, Sirius. I still have my father's old Invisibility Cloak. I think it would just be able to cover him."

Sirius thought for a moment. "Hmmm…I think it might. But, I'm not sure I want to take it from you. It is yours, after all."

"That's okay, Sirius," Harry said. "You can just borrow it. All you have to do is return it before you leave." This made Harry think. "By the way, how long are you going to stay here, Sirius?" Harry asked.

"I'm afraid I'm only going to be here for a few more days, Harry." He looked at Harry, who looked disappointed. Sirius felt mean telling Harry that he was going to leave soon. After all, he didn't get to see Harry that much. He felt like he owed it to Harry to spend more time with him. "I'm sorry, Harry," he whispered.

Sirius thought for a moment. Then, "Say, Harry, why don't we go out tomorrow night?" Harry's eyes brightened. "I know where you live, just leave your window open. We'll go out on Buckbeak and spend some time together."

Before Harry could say anything, Mrs. Figg came into the room with a cake. It was a beautiful homemade cake, with white and green frosting. It said "Happy 15th Birthday Harry," and it had fifteen candles on it. Harry was stunned. Nobody had ever gave him a cake with candles on it. Mrs. Figg turned down the lights, and nodded at Sirius. They sung "Happy Birthday" to Harry, to the best of their ability. Then, Sirius said, "Make a wish, Harry."

Harry stared at the cake for a moment. He had never got to make a wish and blow out the candles on a cake before. He had no idea what to wish for. He did make up his mind, though, and blew out the candles, just like he had seen Dudley do many times. The only difference was that unlike Dudley, Harry managed to get them all out in one breath.

Sirius and Mrs. Figg clapped. "You know, Harry," Mrs. Figg said, "muggles say that if you don't tell anyone, your wish might come true. Well, in our world, we have wishing candles." She motioned towards the cake.

"If you blow out as many wishing candles as you are old on your birthday in one try," she continued, "odds are that your wish will come true, as long as you don't tell anyone." Harry smiled, thinking of what he had wished for. He hoped with all of his of might that it would come true.

Harry didn't know what to say, but Sirius did. "Let's eat some cake!" he said excitedly. 

Mrs. Figg took the cake back to the kitchen, followed by Harry and Sirius. She also had some chocolate ice cream sitting out, thawing a little. By the ice cream were three plates and three bowls. She cut the circular cake, reveling that it was chocolate, and gave Harry a wedge of it. She also cut a slice for her and Sirius. Then, she moved on to the ice cream. She had a scoop ready, and scooped the ice cream into the three bowls.

The three of them sat down at the table and began to eat. Harry realized that this was the first time that he had ever celebrated his birthday like a normal person. While eating, Harry felt a bulge in his pocket. He pulled it out, and he realized that it was his Hogwarts letter. He pulled out the Hogsmeade form, and looked towards Sirius.

"Sirius," he said, "I got my Hogwarts letter today. I have a form so I can go to Hogsmeade."

Sirius looked puzzled. "I thought Dumbledore accepted what I had for you last year. Didn't we meet a Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah," Harry said.

"But, when I was in school, our parents only had to fill it out once, in our third year, and the form was good for the rest of our time at Hogwarts. I wonder why they've changed it," Sirius pondered.

"Well, I don't," Mrs. Figg said. "With all that's going on in the world, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the parents don't want their kids going to Hogsmeade any more. Especially now that You-Know-Who's on the rise."

Harry nodded, thinking that what she said made sense. Most of the parents had signed the form during a time of peace, when most people thought that Voldemort was gone for good. But now, as the world found out that he had survived and is back to his full strength, some of the parents probably wouldn't feel safe about letting their kids leave the school.

"Well, I'll gladly sign your form Harry. You are, after all, James's son. And I know for a fact that there was no stopping James and there'll be no stopping you. This way, at least, you won't have to go sneaking around to do it." Sirius thought for a moment. "Not that I or James, rest his soul, would disapprove of you sneaking around…" Sirius thought it was best to keep it at that, so he took the form and signed it.

"Harry, who's your Head of House, again?" Sirius asked.

"McGonagall," Harry replied.

"Oh, her," Sirius said. "I don't know if she believes Dumbledore on my innocence, so you'd better play it safe and turn this in directly to Dumbledore. After all, we don't want anybody questioning how you got in contact with an escaped murdered." Sirius laughed. Harry shared a chuckle, and then accepted the signed form with a nod, agreeing that it was best to give it to Dumbledore.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The day dragged on, and Harry and Sirius talked about nearly everything. Mrs. Figg occasionally added something, but left the conversation mostly to the other two. When it got late, Harry and Sirius snuck around back of Number 4 Privet Drive. Harry managed to climb up the house and enter his room through his open window.

As Harry put down his new blanket and began to pull out his Invisibility Cloak, he noticed that the last owl that had shown up was still there. It hooted at him. "I know," Harry said. "I haven't forgotten about you." Harry leaned out the window, and held out the cloak.

"Here it is," he said. He dropped it, and it fell into the waiting hands of Sirius.

"Thanks a lot, Harry," Sirius said.

"No problem," Harry replied. "Goodbye," he said. He waved down at Sirius.

"Goodbye until tomorrow night," Sirius responded. "And don't forget to get lots of rest tomorrow."

Harry was about to say goodbye again, when he realized something. "Uh, Sirius?" he said.

"What it is, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"The Dursleys don't know I'm home. I need to enter through the front door." Harry looked down at his godfather.

"Okay, then." Sirius put down the Invisibility Cloak, and held out his arms. "Jump down, Harry."

Harry was looking at Sirius in question. Sirius didn't have a lot to eat while on the run, and Harry wasn't sure that Sirius was strong enough to support his weight. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Of course I'm sure." Sirius looked up at Harry. "I'll catch you. Trust me. I haven't let you die so far, and I won't let you now." He laughed. Harry, belatedly realizing that the last sentence was a joke, joined in.

"Okay, if you say so," he said. He sat down on the edge of the window, and jumped.

Just as he said he would, Sirius caught Harry. He held Harry in his arms for a minute before he put him down. Harry didn't protest. It was the first time anyone had held him in their arms since before his parents had died.

As Sirius walked Harry to the door, Harry realized how tired he was. The sun had set without their noticing. Slightly leaning on Sirius, Harry was glad to know that someone loved and cared about him. Sirius hid under the Invisibility Cloak while Harry rang the doorbell. He watched as Harry's uncle angrily let Harry in the house.

He even went to the back of the house, to see Harry's silhouette turn out his light and get in bed, too tired to even get changed. As he walked back to Arabella's house, he smiled to himself. He was glad that, even with all the tension with the return of the Dark Lord, Harry was still able to enjoy life a little.

Special Thanks - Where I thank those who have reviewed my story so far…

Well, this section is supposed to be where I thank the people who reviewed my story (hence the subtitle), and I really should have started this last chapter. But I have one small problem. NOBODY HAS REVIEWED MY STORY SO FAR!!!!! Well, technically, my sister has, but she reviewed it before I had the actual story put up. I can't believe that NOBODY has read this story and had the decency to review it. I don't care if you flame me; it's better than not reviewing. I've tried advertising this story, yet I've seen ZERO reviews. Maybe if I change the summary, more people will read it. And for goodness sakes, if you read this, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!


	5. Harry's Dream

Chapter Four - Harry's Dream

Harry awoke the next morning feeling very refreshed. Recalling what had happened before he went to bed, he remembered that he would have to sleep during the day, too. Putting on his glasses, Harry realized that he had never changed into his pajamas.

There was a hoot to remind him that the owl from the day before was still there with its package, waiting. "Okay, okay," Harry said to the owl. He opened the package, and found a note from Hagrid:

__

Dear Harry,

Happy birthday to you. I trust you've been having a good one, regardless of the folk you stay with. I thought, since you probably won't be getting one from that lot, that I'd give you a cake. I also got you a present. It's not like the one two years ago, but you'll still be needing that book. I hope you like it.

Hagrid

Harry could remember all too well Hagrid's present for him two years ago. It was called "The Monster Book of Monsters," and it lived up to its name. The book was really a monster. Or, it acted like one, anyway. Hagrid had opted not to use it last year, especially with Rita Skeeter, the reporter who twisted everything to make it look bad, lurking around the school. But, apparently, he thought it was time to use it again.

Harry looked into the box to find a wrapped package. Apparently, just because his friends couldn't give it to him personally didn't mean they would strip him of the joy of tearing off wrapping paper. Harry removed the paper to reveal a voucher and another note. The voucher read, "One kitten at the Magical Menagerie - Paid in full."

Harry was surprised. He already had a pet, which was also bought by Hagrid. On his eleventh birthday, when he first found of that he was a wizard, Hagrid had bought Harry an owl, Hedwig. Harry found a note under the voucher.

__

Harry,

Thought you might be liking one of these. With all that's going on, it'll help lighten things up a little. If you don't want one, let me know, and I'll get you something else. If you do get it, just remember that I'm allergic. Cats can be very loyal to the one who raised it, if you treat it right. And smart, too. Just look at Mrs. Norris. You may not like her, but think what you could do if you had a cat like her.

Hagrid

Harry looked at the voucher. He wasn't sure that he wanted a cat. He decided to wait until he got to see Hermione, who owned Crookshanks, a huge cat, and see what she had to say. Maybe he'd even talk to Ron. Then he'd decided whether or not he wanted a kitten.

Returning to the box, Harry found a cake, and by the looks of it, Hagrid had made it himself. He put it under the loose floorboard with the other cakes and food. Looking at the amount of food, Harry thought that he would never go hungry for the rest of the year.

Harry pulled out a quill, some ink, and a piece of parchment. He quickly wrote a letter back to Hagrid, so that the owl could finally go back.

__

Hagrid

Thanks a lot for the cake. As for the cat, I need a little time to decide whether or not I want one. Thanks a lot, regardless of my decision. 

Harry

P.S. - I can't wait to be back at Hogwarts. 

He gave the letter to the owl, who hooted and flew out Harry's window, which was still open from the night before. Watching it go, Harry continued looking, just to make sure there was no more owls coming. He couldn't think of anyone else who would send him a present.

Harry got changed into some different clothes and went downstairs to eat. Putting up with his aunt and uncle was hardly worth the half of a banana he would get, but he had to go. He didn't want them getting suspicious. They might find out that he was getting food.

When Harry got to the table, he found an envelope at his spot. He wondered what it was, and picked it up. Aunt Petunia saw him, and spoke up. "They finally found your parents' will," she said. It was obvious that she could care less. "There wasn't an official reading. Just a letter to notify you of anything you received."

Harry opened the letter, and it looked like he inherited most of his parents' stuff. He got their house, everything in the house, their property, all their money, and so on. Looking at the list, Harry remembered that he could not actually inherit the house or anything in it. This was because Voldemort destroyed their house the night he killed his parents. He wondered if there was such thing as wizarding homeowners' insurance. The letter also indicated that he was supposed to be under the care of Sirius Black. The writer indicated that since Black was a wanted murderer, and was nowhere to be found anyway, this request could not be fulfilled. 

Harry looked back into the envelope and found another piece of paper. It was the deed to his parents' house. The house itself no longer stood, but it was an official document stating that he owned the property where it used to stand.

After eating his half of a banana, Harry returned to his room. He closed the window, and shut his curtains. He threw his pillow off the bed, and grabbed his new blanket. He folded it up, and put it where his pillow used to be. Harry crawled back into bed, resting his head on the soft pile of feathers, and tried to sleep until it was almost noon.

He got out of bed and went back downstairs to have lunch with his relatives. It wasn't a whole lot to eat, because of Dudley's diet, but Harry didn't care. He returned to his room, very hungry because he hadn't had a decent breakfast. He went into his stash, and ate some chicken, an apple, some cake, and got some water from the bathroom. Upon returning from the bathroom with a final glass of water, he closed his door, put away the rest of his food, and climbed back into bed to get some more rest. While he rested this time, he fell asleep. While he was sleeping, he had a dream.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

__

Harry was walking through a hospital. It was a wizarding hospital, Harry realized, when he saw a man with some bad hex marks. It wasn't until he walked right through a man he hadn't seen that he realized that he was simply an observer, not really a part of the scene.

Harry walked around a bit until he reached a section where everybody seemed to have the same disease. They all had these purple spots on them, all over. By observing them for a bit, Harry guessed that the bigger spots meant that the disease had progressed further. These people seemed to be thin, tired, and Harry thought that they had other flu-like symptoms.

Harry was looking at someone whose spots took up most of his skin. The man fell over suddenly, with a crash. Then, with a bang, the man exploded and disappeared. Harry was surprised. Some of the people around him had jumped, but were not overly surprised. A couple to the side, with no spots, began to cry.

Harry heard a crash, a bang, and then a scream. Harry could have sworn he heard a very faint pop just before the lady screamed. He looked towards the screaming woman. She had bright green eyes that were filling with tears. The scream turned to a sob as Harry approached the lady. She was clutching a baby, only a few weeks old, in her arms.

A man approached the lady, trying to comfort her. He looked very sad, but tried to hold it in. Harry looked at the man, and he seemed very familiar. "Lily, Lily," the man said. He was James Potter, Harry's father. "Lily, it's okay. I know it's terrible, but there's nothing we can do."

"But, but," Lily, Harry's mother, stuttered. "But she was with him," Lily sobbed. It took James a minute to understand, and then his eyes filled with tears. He wiped his eyes, trying to look brave for his wife.

James composed himself, and said, "Harry may have this disease, but it's early. The doctors say that if they catch it early enough, they can save the patient. It's got to be within an hour of the spots appearing, but we saw them only forty-five minutes ago." He put his arm around Lily. "Don't worry, everything will be okay. Harry will live, Harry will live."

It wasn't until then that Harry looked at the baby in his mother's arms. It was him, still very young. And he could see little purple spots just beginning to form on his face. A thought of terror spread through his mind as he thought about how he could have been one of the people he watched with those spots, doomed to die. He pushed that thought out of his mind and focused on his younger self again. He almost didn't recognize himself without the lightning bolt scar on his head. But, he knew that he didn't get that until later.

"Lily, stay strong. It's still early, we can save Harry. He can live," James was reassuring his wife.

Lily looked into her husband's eyes. "But what will we tell Harry? It would be so traumatic." Harry agreed. Although it wasn't traumatic, it was very scary to see himself with those purple dots of death. It was scary to know that he could have died.

James took the small Harry from Lily. "We will tell him nothing. We will pretend it never even happened. All we have to do is destroy the evidence. One less name from the list. It will hardly be missed, there are so many. Very few people would even know that Harry was born, since we have yet to send out the birth announcements. All we have to do it ignore that it ever happened, and ask those that do know to pretend it didn't."

Harry knew that the disease was deadly, and was scary to know that he had it and could have died, but he didn't think that was a good reason to stop somebody from knowing that they had a disease early in their life. But now, all his parents' efforts had been in vain. He knew what had happened.

"This was no accident, James," Lily said. "Your father getting the disease, Harry getting the disease." Harry realized that the last crash and bang must have been James's father, what must have originally set Lily off. "It's a plot against us. They plan to get rid of everyone close to us, and then us. Dumbledore's right, as much as I hate to admit it. He's right, and we have to do the only thing we can. We have to hide, for Harry's sake."

"Let's go then, Lily. The window for saving a patient is very small. We've only got fifteen minutes left. Let us go now, while we can still save our baby boy."

Lily gave a small sob, and allowed James to lead her down the hallway.

Harry watched as Lily and James started to leave. He followed them, although he knew how the rest of story of his parents went. They would hide using the Fidelius Charm. At the last minute, Sirius would convince them to use Peter Pettigrew as their Secret-Keper instead of him.

Peter would in turn reveal where they were to Voldemort, and Voldemort would go to kill his parents. James would be the first to die, trying to give Lily time to escape. Then Lily would die, rather than let Voldemort get to Harry. And then, Voldemort would try to kill Harry. He would not succeed, because Lily's love would protect Harry. Voldemort would lose his powers and his body, and would not be heard from for almost eleven years. And only three years after that, he would restore his body and power, putting the wizarding world in fear once again.

Harry saw one more person crash and bang before the scene began to fade out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry awoke with a start. Looking at the clock, he realized that the Dursleys would have already started dinner. He got out of bed and walked into the bathroom.

He splashed some water on his face, which was hot and sweaty. Harry wasn't quite sure why, either. He hadn't had a nightmare. It was a bit scary, but nothing really bad had happened. He took a drink of the cool water from the faucet, and sat down on the closed toilet.

He sighed, and stood up again. He didn't really know what to do. He looked into the mirror, and in the reflection, he could almost see little purple dots beginning to form. He closed his eyes, and shook his head. Harry returned to his room to make a dinner out of his food stash. He wasn't very hungry, but made himself eat before he got back into bed.

Harry did get a little rest before he went to open his curtains and window. After that, it wasn't long before Sirius showed up. Harry jumped out into Sirius's arms, and the two of them flew off on Buckbeak for a wonderful night of fun.

When they returned, in the early hours of the morning, Harry was fast asleep. Buckbeak flew right up to Harry's open window. Sirius climbed in the room, carrying Harry with him. He pulled back the covers and laid the sleeping boy down. Sirius stayed for a few minutes, just to watch over his godson.

Sirius wished that he could save the boy from the inevitable, but he knew that it was impossible. The Dark Lord had returned, and he wanted his revenge on Harry. Sirius just hoped that any attack planned would be heard about in time, and could be prevented, or at least well defended. As he stepped out the window, he was glad that Harry would be going to Hogwarts in less than two months, where he would be under the watchful eyes of the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

A/N -I originally had that entire night written out. However, it made this chapter too long, and it didn't flow with the next chapter. So, for those reasons, I have cut it out. If anything important about that night comes up, I will make sure that part is explained. Other than that, all you need to know is that it was a night in which they really got to bond with each other.

Special Thanks - Where I thank those who have reviewed my story so far…

Well, I'd personally like to apologize to Brittany because I didn't know I had a review until I finally checked my e-mail. I guess you must have reviewed it on June 4th, because all the reviews from that day were accidently deleted. I'm sorry that your review does not appear on the list of reviews. Regardless, thank you very much for reading and reviewing my story.

Also, I'd like to say thank you to Sballkrazy229 and MARYELIZA5632037, although I doubt that they will ever read this. I sent them this story through e-mail when I met them in a chat room and they expressed interest in reading it. So far, I've only heard from Sball, so that's the equivalent of reviewing.


	6. One Last Visit

A/N - I have read OoP, but I write really far ahead of myself (just in case I temporarily loose enthusiasm, so I don't have to keep everybody waiting until I have the right mind set to write again). Until further notice, the chapters posted were written pre-OoP.

Chapter Five - One Last Visit

On the same day that Harry had returned so early in the morning, Mr. Dursley entered Harry's room loudly, waking Harry up. "Get up, Boy," he grunted.

Harry, woken by his uncle's loudness, sat up in his bed. He realized that he was still in his clothes from yesterday, and sleepily pulled the covers back over himself to hide that fact. Vernon wasn't paying attention.

"You missed breakfast, Boy," Harry's uncle told him. "One prospective buyer has invited me, and my family, to lunch and dinner." Uncle Vernon glared at Harry. "You aren't going. You're staying here." As if Harry needed that last sentence to clarify things.

Vernon looked around. "Now, I know they'll be no funny business out of you, since you'll get expelled if you do anything of that nature. But if I find the slightest scratch on anything, you won't be eating for a week. Do you understand?"

Harry looked sleepily back at his uncle. "Yes, sir," he said. He thought that the way his uncle treated him did not give him the right to be called "Sir" by anyone, but it helped create a little peace between Harry and his uncle. Uncle Vernon walked out of the room, giving Harry a menacing look. As soon as he closed Harry's door, Harry lay back down and went to sleep.

When Harry woke up again, it was in the early afternoon. He put on his glasses, which were on a small table by his bed, and noticed that he was not alone in the room. Sirius was sitting in his desk chair.

"'ello, Sirius," Harry said sleepily. Harry stretched, and yawned.

His Godfather smiled back at him. "Did I wear you out last night?" he asked. Harry nodded. It had been a long, fun-filled night. "If you've been sleeping since we got back, you must be hungry."

Harry nodded again, and opened his door. He went downstairs, and Sirius followed. Harry walked into the kitchen, and realized that, for the first time in his life, he could eat whatever he wanted. He opened the refrigerator, and looked towards Sirius. "Do you want anything to eat, Sirius?" Harry asked.

Sirius looked around for a clock, wondering what time it was. It was almost three in the afternoon. "Sure, why not?" he said. He was actually more hungry than he let off. He had been at the house since the Dursleys left, and was as hungry as Harry was. But something inside him made him feel that it was best if Harry didn't know that.

Harry was peering through the refrigerator, looking at all the food he could choose from. In the end, he made a ham and cheese sandwich. Harry thought it was the best thing in the world, since it had been a while since he had a sandwich, without magically preserved meat. Sirius, on the other hand, was eating a turkey sandwich. He had mastered the art of talking and eating at the same time back in school, when he had a lot to say, and not a whole lot of time to say it, and used this ability well, as the two of them discussed many things.

One of the topics of their discussion was Sirius's memory of his time at Hogwarts. "Hogwarts was a lot of fun for me," Sirius was saying. "Of course, you already know that I had my friends, James, Remus, and Peter. Well, I thought Peter was my friend, but that's a long story that you already know." Harry remembered when Sirius had first told him that story, two years ago, about how Peter Pettigrew betrayed Harry's parents by revealing their hiding location to Voldemort. "Yes, we were rather inseparable. Except for the AMSL Test. But then again, they split everybody up."

Harry looked at Sirius, confused. "The AMSL Test?" Harry asked. 

"Oh, you haven't heard about that?" Sirius asked. Harry shook his head. "Well, I suppose you'll be hearing about it soon enough. It's a two week long boot camp style test during the fall. All students enrolled in their fifth, sixth, or seventh year of any wizarding school can take it.

"It's really difficult, and probably not worth the effort. Although, I'm not the best person to ask, since I didn't pass. James did, but he can't exactly tell us all about it now. I think it qualifies you for things like apparation training and animagus training a few years earlier. If you ask me, the AMSL is overrated, since you can't apparate at Hogwarts, and I managed to become and animagus illegally in my Hogwarts days. Really, its just like getting your Magical Student Licence, or MSL, a few years early."

Harry was listening intently. He had no idea that there were different licences for wizards. "What other kinds of licences are there, Sirius?" he asked.

"Only one other, but it comes in different forms. It's the Advanced Magical Licence, which you obtain from a wizarding university. It is possible to get your AML in general magical studies, but most people specialize in something. I've heard it's very similar to muggle college degree, in that you major in something.

"But, back to the test. It's really hard, and it's like two weeks of torture. The choice is up to you, whether you want to take it or not. It gets you out of two weeks of class, but not only do you have to go through two weeks worth of torture and humiliation, you have to make up all the work you miss, too." Harry was trying to imagine what a wizarding boot camp would be like when Sirius continued. "I'm sure Dumbledore will have a meeting for those who are interested. He will probably give you all the necessary details then."

After lunch, Harry and Sirius invited Mrs. Figg over and they all played Monopoly. Despite Mrs. Figg's protests, they played a full game. They played until one player (Harry) owned all the properties, and the other two were in debt. The whole game took nearly three hours. After a nice dinner, cooked by Mrs. Figg, they began playing Trivial Pursuit. Mrs. Figg was the winner of that, since it was a muggle game, and she knew the most about the muggle world. Harry came in second, thanks to all the information he had gathered in ten of the first eleven years of his life, plus three and a half summers. Sirius, who was born and raised in a wizarding family, knew very little. In fact, there were only one or two questions he actually knew, and they were either for Mrs. Figg or for Harry.

The three of them then played several rounds of Uno, and then moved on to other card games. By nine o-clock, Mrs. Figg left. Sirius decided that the Dursleys would be home soon, and he took Harry up to bed. When they went, Sirius allowed Harry some time to get changed into his pajamas. When Harry opened the door, Sirius walked in. Harry sat on his bed, and Sirius sat on a chair.

"Harry," Sirius said, in a serious tone. Harry looked over at his godfather. "Harry, tomorrow is my last day here. And unfortunately, I am only here because there is something I need to do. I need to do that something tomorrow."

Harry was crossed between sadness and curiosity. His curiosity won the first question. "What do you have to do?" he asked.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. I want you to remain as innocent in this plot as possible, as does Dumbledore. If I were to tell you, I would be betraying Dumbledore's trust. He knew that I would have to come by here, and he told me that I could see you and spend time with you, only if I promised not to tell you anything. It's been hard, Harry. I really wish that you could know what was going on, but it's too much of a risk." Sirius sighed.

"I wish we could have spent more time together, but it was impossible. Dumbledore arranged a tight schedule for me. He tried to get me as much time as I could here, but we have very short windows. If we don't act now, our plan might fail."

Harry looked at Sirius. "Can you at least see me again before you go, to say goodbye?" Harry asked.

Sirius didn't answer. Instead, he stood up, and sat down on the bed, next to Harry. He put his arm around his godson, and said, "I wish I could, Harry. But I'll make sure to keep in contact by owl post. As often as I can, without attracting attention." He ruffled Harry's hair.

Sirius stood up again, to pull back the covers. Harry swung his feet over so that he was lying in his bed. Sirius replaced the covers and sat down again. For a minute, neither of them said anything.

Then, Harry said, "Sirius, what's going to happen? I mean, with Vol - I mean You-Know-Who back?"

Sirius waited a moment before answering. It was obvious that he was fighting an internal battle not to tell Harry exactly what was planned to happen. "Well, Harry, everybody is going to try to live a normal life. You're going to go to school and get educated, along with the rest of the students. The teachers will teach, and all the adults will go to their jobs.

"Don't be confused though. We're not going to ignore the threat, or pretend it isn't there. We're just not going to let it disrupt our normal lives. Just be assured that there is an underground plan, and that Dumbledore will never let anything happen to you. Especially at Hogwarts. Rest assured that the one person You-Know-Who was afraid of, Dumbledore, will be watching over you, and the whole school."

There was a long pause. Then Harry spoke up. "Sirius?" Sirius turned to face his godson. "Do you have to leave?"

Sirius could see tears forming in the boy's eyes, and he understood why. He was the only true family Harry had, and Harry loved him like a father. But, Harry didn't get to see him a whole lot. "I wish there was something I could do, Harry. I wish there was something I could do."

Harry closed his eyes, but whether he was sad, or just tired, Sirius couldn't tell. He watched as the rising and falling of Harry's chest slowed, and became even. He stood up gently, so that he wouldn't wake the sleeping boy. As he turned to the window to leave, he felt something wet drip onto his cheek. But, when he looked up, he realized that it was his own tears. He wiped them on the sleeve of his robe, knowing that what he was doing was best in the long run. If he didn't go through with the plan, Harry's life would be in danger.

A/N - A short chapter, but it's necessary (in my opinion). Any longer, and it would just be dragging the chapter out. It doesn't need any more, I think. I just wouldn't be doing the literature justice.

Special Thanks - Where I thank those who have reviewed my story so far…

Thanks to Brittany again for reviewing, at least time I can actually see it. Thanks to Steffi Snape for reading this as well, I'll read your most recent chapter as soon as I update this story.

I find it rather disappointing that my personal favorite story (and the one I've worked on the most) is getting the least attention of all my stories. 

And, just an interesting fact for anybody who cares (and because I'm feeling rather bored right now) - a lot of my OC's start off based on real people just long enough for me to start a conversation with them, or put them through a few actions. After that, I start drifting away from the real people and into a new character. If, by any bizarre chance, I know you and I just so happened to base an OC on you, they may have your name and your physical appearance, but after a few pages, they stop being a copy of you, and they start being their own person.


	7. Strange Passengers

A/N - I hadn't read Holes at the time I read this. Nor had I seen the movie at that time. Since then, however, my siblings insisted that I watch the movie, and it was with a small shock that I realized that the main character's last name is Yelnats. I must assure you that this is simply a coincidence.

Chapter Six - Strange Passengers

A teenage girl stood out in an open field. Looking around, to make sure she was alone, she opened a sack that hung around her shoulder. She pulled out a small pouch, and counted some coins. She stuck those in her pocket. Then, she pulled out a camera. She knelt down on the ground, and looked up through the camera. She saw nothing, and looked side to side. Something must have caught her attention, because she took a picture.

Holding her camera up to her face with her left hand, she stuck out her right hand and waved it in a circle. There was a loud **bang!** and a bright flash. Somehow, the girl was fast enough to take a picture during that time. Out of nowhere came a bright blue bus. In gold letters on the side were they words, _The Day Bus_.

The doors of the bus opened, and a man, in his early twenties, dressed in blue with gold trim, stepped out. "Hello, and welcome to the Day Bus. We can take you anywhere you want to go. I am Yelnats Shunpike, and I will be your conductor today."

He spotted the girl, standing all by herself. Yelnats cocked an eye at her. "Running away, are you?

The girl lowered her camera, and looked at her feet. "No, Sir," she said in a quiet voice.

The man chuckled, as though he didn't believe her. "Well, I'll play along. You can call me Nats. Where would you like to go?" He smiled at the girl, hoping that maybe he could at least make her short time away from home a nice one. He was, after all, not that much older than her, and there was something about her he liked.

Still looking at her feet, the girl replied, "Hogwarts, please, Sir."

"Hogwarts? Isn't it a bit early to be going there? Besides, somebody's bound to see you and turn you in." He chuckled to himself. Most runaways wanted to go to somewhere where they could blend in, and nobody would recognize them. This odd girl wanted to go to a school, which was odd in itself. But then, there was the fact that there would be no students there, so she would be spotted instantly.

"Yes, Sir." The girl's eyes were focusing on her shoelaces.

"There's no need to call me Sir. Just Nats is fine," he informed her. Getting back to the subject, he said, "Well, the trip to Hogwarts will be ten sickles. If you have that, come on aboard. Don't worry. I won't tell anybody that I saw you." Nats looked at the girl with a smile.

She didn't smile back. She pulled ten silver coins out of her pocket, and handed them to Nats. Acting professionally, he bowed slightly, and pointed the way to the door. The girl boarded, and he followed.

Inside the bus were large, blue seats. The were very comfortable, and Nats motioned for the girl to sit in one of the front seats. He sat in the seat opposite her. Even if she was odd, he seemed interested in her. "Is there anything else I can get you?" he asked as the bus jumped smoothly to a dirt road surrounded by rolling green hills with a flash and a bang.

"No, thank you, Sir," the girl replied. Nats sighed. There was obviously no getting through to the girl. He figured that if she wanted to act all formal, he might as well let her.

"So, what's your name?" Nats asked casually. It was a boring day, and he was looking for something to liven the day. It seemed that this girl was going to be the only source of liveliness for the time being.

The girl didn't answer. She had put her camera back to her face and was looking around at the other passengers.

Nats tried something else. "So, what did you run away for?"

The girl was still ignoring him. She had turned her attention to outside, where there was a flock of birds. Watching them intently, she moved slightly, and then took a picture. Satisfied, she put the camera down.

Nats seized the moment, and tried to continue the conversation. "Let me guess. Sibling rivalry?"

The girl shook her head. "No, Sir. To my knowledge, I have no siblings."

Nats was surprised that she had listened to him. "No siblings? I've got one. A twin, actually. We're identical. My brother, Stanley, was born first. My parents didn't know that they were having twins, and had so firmly settled on the name Stanley that when I was born, only a few minutes after Stan, they had no idea what to name me.

"They ended up naming me Yelnats, which is really just Stanley, spelled backwards. They even insisted that I take up Nats as a nickname, since my brother went by Stan." Stan wasn't sure if the girl was still listening to him, but he hoped she was. "Well, we may be twins, and we _look _alike, but personality wise, we're as different as night and day.

"Stan has usually been the dependent one. He depended on me for almost everything, and honestly, he still does. Even when I got this job, here with the Day Bus, he depended on me to help find him a job. Now, I thought it would be some creative symbolism if I got him working on the Knight Bus. After all, it would be two people, different as day and night, working on the Day and Knight Buses."

An older witch a few rows back laughed, but not the strange girl. Nats looked at the girl in desperation, wondering what he had to do to get her attention. The girl had gone back to her camera, and was looking out the window again. She took anther picture, although Nats couldn't see anything outside worth taking a picture of. The girl put the camera on her lap, and pulled out a small, plastic cylinder. She opened the back of her camera, and took out the film. Putting the film in its little container, she took out a new roll and loaded it into her camera.

Nats sighed. There was no way he would be able to have a normal conversation with the girl. He didn't speak for a while, until after they had dropped off the witch that laughed, and were on their way to delivering a very old wizard, and somebody signaled for the bus. Nats left and gave his speech, and let the awaiting man onto the bus.

"So, Sir, where can we take you today?" Nats asked the man.

The man responded in a gruff voice, that sounded almost constrained, as if he was trying to disguise his voice. "Hogwarts."

Nats consulted a small, color coded map. "Funny you should ask that. We already have a passenger going to Hogwarts." Nats motioned towards the girl, who was looking out the window when he turned. "From here to Hogwarts will be fifteen sickles." The man nodded and paid. When nobody was looking at her, the girl looked at the new passenger.

The man was wearing a hooded cloak, so that none of the other passengers could see his face. His cloak, although rather plain, had silver fastenings. This caught the girl's interest. When Nats sat the man down in the seat behind her, she silently thanked him. Leaning back on her seat, and looking into the window with her camera, she could see his reflection in the window. All she had to do was wait.

The girl was no stranger to waiting. She often had to wait for the perfect picture to arise. Fortunately, she was patient, but ready to act the moment she could, in case the window for the picture was limited. The man soon shifted his head, to look out the window. The girl shifted herself a little bit, and then, when she could see his face, she took a picture. Putting down the camera, she looked at the face she could see in the window. She was shocked.

Hiding under the hooded cloak was none other than Cornelius Fudge, the British Minister of Magic. She had no plans to reveal who he was, but she wanted to ask him what he was doing. She knew better, of course.

She wondered why he was using public transportation. If he wanted to go to Hogwarts, he could just apparate to the grounds, and go in. The girl had read "Hogwarts, A History" enough to know that people couldn't apparate or disapparate in the actual building, but there seemed to be no restrictions on the grounds. But, it wasn't her place to be asking questions, especially to the Minister of Magic.

The girl spent the rest of the ride looking for something to take a picture of. She found nothing spectacular, except a tree trying to jump out of the way as the driver swerved to avoid a cat crossing the road. The picture contained the cat, the driver, and the tree, and if it turned out right, it would have their various expressions, all so similar, and yet so different.

Nats was finding himself at a loss. First, the girl wouldn't speak to him, because she was absorbed with her camera. He thought she was a bit on the weird side, but she was more interesting than everybody else on the bus. The only other interesting person on the bus was the mysterious guy who wanted to go to Hogwarts. But, the guy was trying to avoid talking, or so it seemed.

Nats sighed, wishing he got some of the company his brother, Stan, did. The Knight Bus was much more popular, even if the driver was a maniac. Two years ago, they picked up Harry Potter, not too long after Sirius Black had escaped. Harry was hiding his identity, but Stan actually got to talk to the boy. Nats never got anyone that important on his bus.

Nats, having nothing better to do, started reflecting on his own life. It seemed like, no matter what he did, Stan was always better off. His parents were always quite fond of Stan, and would flaunt Stan's abilities and good points in Nats's face. "Why can't you be more like Stan?" they would ask. Nats could never seem to compare to his brother, in his parents' eyes.

Finally, the Day Bus arrived at Hogwarts, and Nats said goodbye to his only interesting, and yet totally uninteresting, passengers. The girl got off without a word, but handed Nats a sickle. He assumed it was a tip, although most people didn't give tips to conductors. The man got off without a word, and without a tip.

The girl held her camera, and took a few pictures of the grounds, and the castle. Since there seemed to be nothing else to do, she began the long walk to the front doors. The man, on the other hand, was dallying back, as though waiting for the girl to go away. She didn't notice, and was taking pictures as she walked.

When she got to the front doors, she didn't know what to do. If she was at her own home, she would enter through the back, the servants' door. She didn't really go anywhere else, except for her old school. And then, she would enter with the rest of the students.

She didn't want to draw attention to herself, but there was nothing else she could do. She reached out and knocked on the door four times. One loud knock, to get someone's attention, and three quiet knocks, to show that she knew her place. She didn't really expect someone to answer, so she was surprised when the doors opened.

A mean-looking man, with a cat at his feet, opened the doors. "Oh, it's you," he said. Most students would probably have taken offence at that remark, but not this girl. The man turned and walked off, and she simply followed him. He walked up stairs and through corridors until he reached a statue of a gargoyle. Approaching it, he said, "Cauldron Cake." The gargoyle came to life, and moved to the side.

The man motioned for her to get on a spiral staircase, which was spiraling upward. At the top was a giant, oak door, which was open. There was nobody in the office, so the girl assumed that she would have to wait. She used her time alone to take pictures of the odd room.

When she reached into her bag to get her camera, her hands fell on a fist-sized stone. She pulled it out, and remembered that she had a task. She looked at the stone, which was an indigo crystal. She looked into the crystal, and she could see the room inside it, complete with her in it. The girl in the crystal extensively hid the crystal-within-a-crystal. Watching closely, the girl outside the crystal did the same.

After completing her small task, the girl looked around through her camera. Her eyes fell upon a phoenix. It was about the size of a swan, with scarlet and gold feathers. Its long tail extended down quite some bit, and it sat on a gold perch. The odd bird seemed in interest the girl.

She walked around the phoenix, taking its picture from several different angles. When she reached its head again, it looked at her. It cocked its head, and uttered a small note, as if to say, "What are you doing?"

The girl almost laughed at her odd interpretation of the bird, but decided that she might as well answer the question. "I'm taking your picture," she said, "because you're a very pretty bird."

The bird cooed, as though to say, "Thank you."

Just then, an old wizard with a very long beard and bright blue eyes walked in the door. He took one look at the girl, and smiled. She didn't return the smile. Instead, she dropped her eyes.

"Ah, yes," the old man said. "Our transfer student. There are a few things I would like to explain to you."

Special thanks…

Um, well, nobody has reviewed my last chapter, so I don't have anybody to thank.


	8. The Grangers Arrive

A/N - Deepest apologies in advance. I'm having a hard time with Hermione's personality. Hopefully, I'll improve as the story goes on, but in this chapter, she seems a bit out of character.  
  
Chapter Seven - The Grangers Arrive  
  
Harry was up in his room, packing, because the Grangers were supposed to arrive that day. They would pick Harry up, and Harry supposed that they would take him to their house. Harry was going through his gifts and letters when he came across his Hogwarts letter again. He realized that he never had time to look through all of it, because Uncle Vernon had interrupted him.  
  
Harry found another letter in the envelope that he hadn't read before. Opening it up, he quickly scanned the first few lines, and was stunned. It read:  
  
DEAR MR. H. POTTER,  
  
OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, THE STAFF OF HOGWARTS, SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDY THINK THAT YOU HAVE BEEN AN OUTSTANDING MODEL TO YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS. YOU SET THE WAY FOR YOUR CLASSMATES TO FOLLOW. WE THINK THAT YOU DESERVE RECOGNITION FOR YOUR EXEMPLARY BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDE, AND HAVE SELECTED YOU TO BE A PREFECT FOR THE UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR.  
  
BEING A PREFECT IS A BIG HONOR. YOU WILL SET AN EXAMPLE FOR YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS. THE FIRST YEARS WILL LOOK UP TO YOU, AND MAY DEPEND ON YOU TO HELP THEM AS THEY ARE ADJUSTING TO THE SCHOOL. A BADGE HAS BEEN INCLUDED WITH THIS LETTER TO BETTER IDENTIFY YOU AS A PREFECT.  
  
DURING THE FEAST OF THE DAY YOU RETURN TO SCHOOL, YOUR HEAD OF HOUSE WILL DISTRIBUTE THE PASSWORD TO YOUR HOUSE COMMON ROOM. YOU WILL ALSO BE INFORMED OF THE TIME OF THE FIRST PREFECT MEETING, WHERE YOUR DUTIES, AND BENEFITS, WILL BE BETTER EXPLAINED.  
  
AS A PREFECT, YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO ATTEND THE MONTLY PREFECT MEETING, WHERE SCHOOL ISSUES WILL BE DISCUSSED. YOU WILL BE INFORMED OF THEIR TIME AND DATE AT THE FIRST MEETING.  
  
CONTRATULATIONS, AND MAKE YOUR HOUSE PROUD OF YOU.  
  
SIGNED,  
  
MINERVA MCGONAGAL  
  
DEPUTY HEADMISTRESS  
  
Harry could hardly believe it. Although Harry had known a few prefects, he could never imagine himself being one. Sure, he had saved the school, and possible the whole world, from doom once or twice before. But, as Dumbledore had once pointed out, he broke about a hundred school rules in the process. Harry didn't think that qualified him as an "outstanding model." Percy, one of Ron's brothers who was a prefect and even Head Boy, was very big on rules. He would never approve of Harry being a prefect.  
  
Rereading the letter, Harry was wondering what the meetings would be about. Even thought he had known a few prefects, Harry had never realized that prefects had monthly meetings. He had never known that they actually DID something. As far as he knew, they were the ones who knew that passwords to the common rooms at the beginning of the year, and that was it. Well, they also led the first years to the common room, and helped them out in their first couple days, but. that was it.  
  
He looked into the envelope that all his Hogwarts stuff came in, and he found the prefect badge. He twirled it around in his fingers for a minute, and then put it back in the envelope. He didn't want to loose it before he got to Hogwarts.  
  
As soon as he finished packing, Harry went downstairs. He figured that he could leave his stuff in his room, and someone would help him with it when the time came. He made sure to give his uncle a somewhat foul look. He was supposed to be pretending that he didn't want to go, after all.  
  
It wasn't long before the doorbell rang. Uncle Vernon answered the door. On the other side of the door stood the Drs. Granger, Hermione's parents. Both of them were holding a clipboard. It was Hermione's father who spoke first. "Hello, you must be Mr. Dursley." Harry's uncle nodded.  
  
Then, Hermione's mom took over. Looking over at Harry and Dudley, she said, "Now, which one of these boys is Harry?" Harry stepped forward. "Ah, yes," she continued talking to Vernon. "Now, there are a few forms I'll need you to sign."  
  
While Uncle Vernon started signing forms, Hermione's dad looked at Harry. "Now, then Harry, you'll need your stuff." Harry nodded, and walked up to his room. Hermione's dad followed, taking notes as he did. Upstairs, they both grabbed Harry's suff. Hermione's father kept up his act, except for winking at Harry up in the room. The two of them loaded Harry's stuff into the car.  
  
Harry went back to the house to say goodbye to his aunt and uncle. "Well, bye then," Harry said, trying to sound angry, but not mean.  
  
Looking at Hermione's mom, who was also taking notes, Uncle Vernon said a gruff, "Bye." Then Harry and Hermione's mother turned and got into the car. Harry realized that Hermione was there too.  
  
Nobody spoke until they were out of sight of Number 4, Privet Drive. It was Hermione who broke the silence. "It's good to see you, Harry."  
  
"You don't even know how glad I am to see you, Hermione. Life with the Dursleys has been so miserable, I wasn't sure I was going to live to see September. But then, I got your letter."  
  
Looking to the front of the car, where Hermione's parents were, Harry said, "Thank you so much for letting me stay with your family.  
  
Hermione's dad responded, "You're very welcome, Harry. When we heard who you were living with, and how they treated you, there was no way we were going to let you stay there."  
  
His wife continued, "I went to high school with your aunt. I never liked her. She always talked unfavorably about her sister, Lily. She said all sorts of mean things, none of which I will repeat. Then, when Hermione told us that you were Lily's son, and you were living with Petunia, I couldn't believe it. I knew that they couldn't be treating you very good. But I was stunned at how mean they were."  
  
"By the way," she continued, "you can just call us Mr. and Mrs. Granger. We've found that calling us 'doctor' isn't specific enough, since we're both doctors." She smiled back at Harry.  
  
There was a moment of silence, and then Hermione spoke up. "Guess what, Harry? I'm a prefect!"  
  
"Congrats, Hermione. By some bizarre set of circumstances, I am too."  
  
Hermione was stunned, but happy. "That's great, Harry. But, why do you say 'by some bizarre set of circumstances'?"  
  
Harry laughed. "You read the letter, right?" Hermione nodded. Harry wouldn't be surprised if she had memorized it. "Well, it talks about being an exemplary student, and being a good role model."  
  
"You're a great role model, Harry. You've done a lot against the Dark Lord, and you're always fighting for good. Not always in the most literal sense, but still."  
  
"But you've got to admit that I don't really live up to the standards of somebody like Percy Weasley. I may do good things, but I break a bunch of rules in the process."  
  
Hermione waited a moment before responding. "Harry, in the past few years, I've learned a lot of things. One thing I've learned is that life is not all books and rules. I've learned that being brave, and standing up for what you believe in, can be a lot more important."  
  
Harry had no idea what to say to that, so he said nothing. After another moment of silence, he said, "So, did you go to see Viktor Krum like he asked you to?"  
  
Hermione blushed. "Yeah, I did. I went the first week of July. I guess I was all caught up in my parents' plan to remember to tell you in the letter."  
  
"So," Harry said, "what did you do? If you don't mind telling me, that is."  
  
Hermione laughed. "Of course I don't mind. You're my friend, after all. If I can't tell you, who can I tell?" Harry gave a small laugh, but Hermione didn't seem to notice if it sounded forced.  
  
"Well, I got to meet his parents. They don't speak a word of English, so Viktor had to serve as a translator. They were really nice. They live in a big house, because being a quidditch player pays really well. He still lives with them, you know. But, he told me that he plans to move out later this year.  
  
"We spent a lot of our time hanging out, talking, and things like that. He did give me some flying lessons. You know, since I'm not very good, and we only had one lesson in our first year." Harry remembered it well. Flying lessons used to be given at Hogwarts, but a few factors had led them to being cancelled for the whole school, one lesson into Harry's first year at Hogwarts. First, was Neville Longbottom. He got nervous, and ended up breaking his wrist. Also, Madame Hooch, the flying instructor and quidditch official, had told Draco Malfoy he had been flying wrong for years. This upset Draco, and Draco's father, as a school governor, was able to get lessons cancelled.  
  
"I'm still not very good, but I know enough to do decent." She sighed. "You know, Harry, you're so lucky. Flying just comes naturally to you. I find it very difficult, since I actually have to learn how." After a moment's thought, she added, "And it's not really something you can learn in a book." Harry chuckled.  
  
"Speaking of quidditch," Hermione continued, "do you know how Gryffindor is going to get a new keeper?"  
  
The same thought had just crossed Harry's mind. "Well, no, I don't. I suppose we'll have tryouts. I don't know who chooses, though, since I wasn't selected by the regular method." Harry could remember how, at the one and only flying lesson, Professor McGonagall saw him dive, and recommended him to Oliver Wood, who was the captain of the Gryffindor team at that time. He was such a natural at flying that there was no question about him being on the team.  
  
"So, Harry.have you heard from Fred and George lately?" Harry knew in an instant that she was trying to subtly find out if he had found out about the nomination for captain.  
  
"Hermione, you're really bad at trying to bring up a topic casually." She gave Harry a mean look, but only for a moment. "But, yes, I have. And I'm very touched. I haven't signed it, since I mean to do so with the rest of the team there to see it." Harry lied. He didn't want to tell her how he had nearly freaked out about it. Besides, for thinking on his feet, it was actually a good idea.  
  
"Hey, Hermione, I just have one question. How long have you known?"  
  
Hermione smiled. "Well, I was one of the first people to sign, after the team. It took the two of them almost the whole year to get everyone to sign, and not have you find out."  
  
"Well, the did a good job. I had no idea until I got the papers on my birthday. I guess it was like a birthday present," Harry commented.  
  
"Harry, I'm so happy for you," Hermione exclaimed. She leaned over and hugged her friend.  
  
Harry was stunned. "What for? I'm just the captain of our team. It's not like I'm head boy, or valedictorian or anything."  
  
"But Harry, it IS like that. There are only four people in our school who are given that honor. And you were voted by our house, unanimously."  
  
"But still, it's not THAT special. I'm sure Ron's brother Charlie did the same, and probably better. Besides, SOMEBODY has to be captain."  
  
"But you're only a fifth year, Harry. I'm sure there hasn't been a fifth year captain since.since.well, in a long time."  
  
Harry laughed. "It's been so long that the last person to do it was Oliver Wood."  
  
Hermione looked disappointed. "Oh. Well, it's still a big honor. AND, you're a prefect. There are only twenty-four in the whole school."  
  
"Really, there's that many?" Harry questioned. "How do the organize it? Is it just the best twenty-four people?"  
  
"Well, no. For each house, they take the best boy and the best girl in the fifth, sixth, and seventh year."  
  
Harry thought for a moment. "You know, when you put it that way, being a prefect doesn't seem that impressive after all. I had a one in five chance then, since there are only five Gryffindor fifth year boys: Ron, Dean, Seamus, Neville, and I"  
  
"Neville and ME," Hermione corrected.  
  
"Oh, whatever. How can you tell the difference?"  
  
"Easy. Just get rid of everybody else, and figure out which would be appropriate. You wouldn't say, 'five Gryffindor fifth year boys: I' because that sound silly."  
  
This was more of the Hermione Harry was used to. The one that was bent on being correct, not the one that talked about bravery. "Of course it didn't make sense, because I would have said there was five people, but only mentioned myself."  
  
Hermione snorted. "That's not the point. The point is that you would say, if you can get over the number contradiction, 'five Gryffindor boys: me' therefore, you would use 'me' instead of 'I' in that particular case."  
  
Harry sighed. Being smart was just part of Hermione's personality. It came in handy a lot, so he wasn't going to be bugged by it. Or at least, he was going to TRY to not be bugged by it. Sometimes it was hard. "So, have you talked to Ron at all this summer," he asked.  
  
"Yeah. We've arranged a date to meet at Diagon Alley. I figured you wouldn't mind, since communication by owl post is hard enough with two people. But then, if I had to share Hedwig with you for three-way owl post, we would have never gotten anywhere. Besides, you're staying with us, so you'd go that same time as me anyway."  
  
Harry couldn't think of anything to add, so he changed the subject. "So, what kind of teacher do you think we'll have for defence against the dark arts? After all, we've had a supporter of Vol-uh, you-know-who, a total fake, a werewolf, even if he was nice, and a paranoid Auror, even if it was really another supporter of V-you-know-who. Dumbledore doesn't have a good reputation of choosing teachers for that position. Maybe this year, he'll hire a dementor, or something."  
  
Hermione laughed. "Well, they do have a lot of experience with the dark arts, being in Azkaban and all. Plus, they feed on the dark arts kind of thoughts, right?"  
  
"What? There's something Hermione doesn't know? We've got to alert the ministry of magic, or something." He laughed. "Well, to be honest, I don't remember either. Maybe they fed on good thoughts, and that's why all you've got left are the bad ones. I'm not sure. Lupin said last year, but I don't remember."  
  
"Well, the reason I don't know is because I wasn't very keen on the creatures themselves. They never sparked any interest in me to study them. But now, I'll have something to look up in the library when we get back, if it's not in any of the books I already own."  
  
"I don't think there's anything that isn't in a book you own," Harry commented.  
  
"That's not true. You should know that. Remember how I needed to get the book containing the Polyjuice Potion? I didn't have a book with THAT in it, now did I?"  
  
Harry remembered in his second year how he, Ron, and Hermione wanted to spy on Draco, so they used the Polyjuice Potion to become Crabbe and Goyle, Draco's thugs. "No, you didn't. I was just being sarcastic, Hermione."  
  
Mr. Granger pulled into the driveway of a house. "Well, we're here," he said to Harry. Harry stepped out of the car, and looked at the house where he would be staying for the next two weeks.  
  
Special Thanks.  
  
Special thanks to siri-padfoot and Saffron Halifax for reviewing my story. It means a lot to me to hear from my readers. It's also reassuring to know that there are actually people out there reading my story.  
  
Siri-padfoot - how could I even think about omitting my favorite character (and obviously yours too). Rest assured that he is probably not going to die in MY version of Harry's fifth year  
  
Saffron Halifax - in case you didn't notice, I have an author's note at the beginning of the chapter concerning Holes. I haven't read or seen it, but have heard about the whole Yelnats thing from my sibblings. This is just a coincidence as I had no idea when I wrote that. 


	9. Cats, School, and Rules

Chapter Eight - Cats, School, and Rules  
  
Harry's first week with the Grangers passed very quickly. To Harry, it seemed as though almost no time had passed, and suddenly, he found himself going to Diagon Alley.  
  
They started by going to Gringotts, the wizard bank. Harry made a withdrawal, and the Grangers exchanged their muggle money for wizarding money. They met up with Ron and his family at Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore.  
  
"Good to see you, Harry," Ron exclaimed, as he approached Harry.  
  
"It's good to see you, too, Ron." Harry smiled at his friend. There wasn't much to say, at least nothing in front of Ron and Hermione's family. But Harry knew that there would be plenty to say on the train, away from everybody else.  
  
Harry and his friends bought their books and were passing the Magical Menagerie when Harry remembered his gift. "Oh, wait you guys," he said to Ron and Hermione, who were about to pass the store. "Hagrid's gift to me was a kitten."  
  
"A kitten? I didn't know you like cats, Harry," Ron said. Hermione agreed.  
  
"The thing is, I didn't either. Hagrid said that if I didn't want one, he'd refund the voucher he got me."  
  
"You know, Harry, if that came from Hagrid, you should be lucky it's only for a kitten. He could have gotten you a dragon or something," Ron pointed out. Harry nodded. Hagrid had a love for wild beasts, even if they didn't love him back. He remembered how Hagrid had possessed, or still owned, a three-headed dog, a dragon, a giant spider, a hippogriff, blast- ended skrewt, and probably many more that they didn't know about.  
  
"I think you should get it, Harry. I know you have Hedwig, but you only get to see her when you go to the owlry. And besides, if there's one thing you should have learned from Crookshanks, it's that cats are very smart," Hermione explained.  
  
"I don't know why, but I guess I'll get the cat," Harry sighed. Not that he didn't want it, he just wasn't sure if he really wanted a cat around all the time. Harry walked in, and began to browse around.  
  
The Magical Menagerie had a lot of kittens. Harry looked at all the little fuzz balls, some playing, some eating, and some sleeping. Harry focused on one kitten in particular. It was like a little ball of grey and white fluff. It's back, head, tail, and most of its front legs were grey. But starting under it's chin and running across it's belly was white fur, along with little white mittens on it's front paws, and all of it's back legs.  
  
Harry turned to the lady behind the counter. Pointing to the kitten he had been watching, he asked, "Do you think this would be good cat to take to Hogwarts?"  
  
The lady went and grabbed the small cat from out of his cage. "You mean this one?" Harry nodded. "Why, I think so. He's real flexible. He seems to get along well with other cats, but he's also fine if you leave him on his own. He also seems to get along fine with humans."  
  
She handed the kitten to Harry. It was small enough to fit nicely in his hands. "So, do you want him?" the lady asked.  
  
Harry looked down at the little fluff in his hands. "Sure, I'll take him." He pulled out the voucher and handed it to the lady.  
  
"Okay, with the cat, you get a cage, collar, litter box, litter, litter supplies, dishes, food, some toys, and some catnip. I would recommend that you get a scratching post, but that's not included. You'll also get our owl order catalogue, no pun intended, so that you can order more food, litter, and so on."  
  
She put the mentioned things on the counter, and held a golden collar. "So, it's a him. What are you going to name him?"  
  
Harry thought for a moment. Then, he said, "Yllier. That's Y-L-L-I-E- R." The lady engraved it onto the name tag as he dictated it.  
  
"And, your name please?" Harry was surprised. Most people recognized him as soon as they saw him. She obviously didn't.  
  
"Harry Potter," he said, and waited while she reacted. It was the usual small gasp and look up to his forehead. It was one of those time that Harry wished that he wasn't so famous. Or, at least that he didn't have a scar on his forehead.  
  
The lady put the collar around little Yllier's neck. "It's a magical collar," she explained. "It only shows up when you want it to, or when it would benefit the cat, like he's lost or something. Quite useful if you want it sneaking around the school." The lady laughed, as though what she said was somewhat funny. Harry didn't see the humor, since he was always sneaking around the school, or so it seemed.  
  
"I'd also like to buy a scratching post," Harry said. Hermione nudged him, and pointed to a bunch of baskets that were hanging. He guessed that Hermione didn't really approve of cages. "Oh, and a carrying basket, too." The lady brought the two things to the counter, and Harry gave her the appropriate amount of money. She then put all the stuff except the basket, and the cat, of course, in a bag.  
  
Harry lifted the lid of the basket, and put his new pet inside it. Picking up the basket, and the bag, and left the store. As soon as they were out, Ron had something to say. "What kind of name did you give your cat, Harry? It sounds nothing like it's spelled."  
  
"Not really, Ron. It's ill-ee-er, and Yllier was a famous Irish seeker. I hope Crookshanks won't mind," Harry commented. On an after thought, he added, "Let's go to Flourish and Blotts again. I need a book about how to care for a cat."  
  
When they arrived, Harry found that there were a number of books on having a cat as a pet. There were the regular books on how to care for it, plus lots on training your cat to do all sorts of things. He ended up getting two different care books, and two other training books. One of them was CATS: TRAINING THEM TO BE THE PRACTICAL COMPANION and the other was TRICKS AND HABITS FOR EVERY GOOD CAT. Harry figured that it would be more than enough.  
  
The three friends finished shopping for school supplies, and the two families enjoyed some ice cream before departing. As he was returning to the Grangers' house, he was looking at a birth certificate for Yllier. It said that he was born on May 19th, making him a little over fourteen weeks old. It gave the description of Yllier at birth, Yllier's parents, their descriptions, and the owners of his parents.  
  
The little birth certificate came in a file folder, along with his vaccination record, and the business cat of the veterinarian he had seen. Of course, Harry would have to take the small cat to the vet later to get him fixed. Harry also thought that it wouldn't be bad to have Hedwig see a vet for yearly examinations.  
  
**********  
  
In the rest of the week before school started, Yllier quickly bonded with Harry. The little kitten was full of energy, and rather liked Harry. When Harry and Hermione were going to King's Cross Station, it was hard to keep little Yllier in his basket. It was a large basket, and he would grow into it, but he kept pushing his little white paws against the lid.  
  
Although they weren't late this year, they took their usual spot in the last car of the train. It was empty, but they knew that Ron would join them soon enough. The two sat down in different seats. Crookshanks had his own seat as well, but Yllier's basket stared with Harry.  
  
With one hand on the basket, Harry began reading one of his training books. Although still very small, Yllier seemed to absorb the training like a sponge. He already knew all the simple "dog" tricks, like sit, and come, even if he would rather run around. Harry had begun to teach him some of the more advanced things, and he seemed to get those as well.  
  
Before they left, Harry was getting Yllier to recognize Harry's wand. One of the books said it was helpful if the cat could bring a person's wand to them. Harry would have to test Yllier's ability to pick Harry's wand out of a bunch when he got to school.  
  
It wasn't long before Ron arrived, not too much before the train was set to depart. Harry waved to the rest of the Weasleys. When the train started to move, and the platform was out of sight, Harry let Yllier out of the basket.  
  
"So," Ron said, "have you heard from Sirius at all this summer?"  
  
Harry nodded excitedly. "I don't know why, but he was staying with somebody who lived on my street. I got to see him, and we spent a lot of time together."  
  
"Really?" Hermione asked. It seemed that both of his friends were concerned about his godfather. With good reason, Harry supposed. There were some of the few people that knew, or believed, that Sirius didn't kill Peter Pettigrew.  
  
"Yeah, but he wouldn't tell me why he was there. He said something like that he wanted to keep me innocent, or something. In the end, I don't really care. What matters most is that I got to see him again."  
  
It was only a matter of time before Draco Malfoy and his mini gang, Crabbe and Goyle, showed up. As soon as they opened the door to the compartment, Yllier, who was sleeping in his basket, sprung awake and ran at the trio. Yllier hissed and yowled at Malfoy, who began to laugh.  
  
"Is this your army, Potter? A little kitten? This thing couldn't hurt me if it tried," Malfoy laughed some more.  
  
But then, Yllier made an odd meowing noise. It was a meow, but not a normal one. Crookshanks got up, and advanced on Malfoy and his huge companions. Crookshanks stopped to stretch and yawn, and succeeded in showing off his teeth and claws, which were very sharp. Malfoy stopped laughing.  
  
But it wasn't until Crookshanks dived towards Malfoy's legs that he ran out of the compartment, shutting the door behind him.  
  
Everyone that remained was in awe. "Go Yllier!" Harry exclaimed, and gave his cat some treats. Hermione also rewarded her cat, because, although she didn't approve of Crookshanks hurting people, she did approve of the action against Malfoy. She hadn't like him since she met him, and his attitude over the years to her, Harry, and Ron, made her very angry at him.  
  
The rest of the train ride proved the old saying, "Time flies when you're having fun." The three friends talked the rest of the time, and before they knew it, they were at Hogwarts. As usual, they greeted Hagrid as he led the new students into boats to cross the lake. Harry got in a horseless carriage with Ron and Hermione that would take them to the school. They were just entering when they met up with Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Harry, Hermione, I'd like to have a word with you two," she said. She did not look happy. Harry sighed, following her. He never could seem to start the year off very well. They went to her office, where she turned to face them.  
  
"I have come to understand that both of you had cats that assaulted Draco Malfoy. Please explain yourselves." Harry had almost forgotten the episode on the train, but Malfoy must not have. Harry was actually impressed. Malfoy must have gotten word out really quick to have Professor McGonagall get to them that fast.  
  
Harry started the explanation. "Professor, my cat was sleeping peacefully up until the moment Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy entered the compartment. Upon their entry, my cat awoke, and walked up to Malfoy. He hissed at Malfoy, and Malfoy began to laugh at my cat." He silently applauded himself. It was the best explanation he had ever given. It almost sounded as though he had planned it.  
  
Hermione took up the short story. "But then, Harry's cat meowed oddly, and my cat woke up. He walked over to Malfoy, stretching on the way. This stopped the laughing, but they didn't move. I'll admit my cat attempted to scratch Malfoy, but he was not successful. Malfoy retreated, along with Crabbe and Goyle, into another compartment." Harry contributed their ability to explain bad situations to the frequency that they had to do so in the past.  
  
"I see," McGonagall said. She thought for a moment. "I don't believe that there is a rule against a cat hissing at a student, and I believe there is a small loop hole in the rules so that a cat may ATTEMPT to scratch another student, but if it is unsuccessful, there is no punishment." Harry knew that if this were Snape, one professor who seemed to absolutely loathe him, he would not be very pleased to say that the two of them could get off without punishment.  
  
"But there is another rule I must discuss. Mr. Potter, if you do not remember, students at this school may have an owl OR a cat OR a toad. I believe that you are breaking this rule in having both an owl and a cat. You may keep only one." She looked at him, and Harry suddenly wished that he had remembered that rule.  
  
"But Professor, isn't there some way I can have two? I can't just leave one at home?"  
  
McGonagall looked at him as though he was asking her to recall something she didn't want to. "There is one exception. If a student wishes to posses either an unapproved pet, or two pets, the pet or pets in question must prove unfailing loyalty to the student. Statistics show that somebody is more likely to become an animagus then to pass the test of loyalty."  
  
"Well, it's worth a try, isn't it?" Harry looked at his teacher, wishing that there was some other way. He knew that there was only six legal animagi this century. There was of course, four unregistered ones, so maybe, if he looked at it that way, there might be a chance. BESIDES, Harry thought to himself, MY DAD WAS AN ANIMAGUS. THE POWER IS IN MY BLOOD. MAYBE I COULD PULL THIS OFF.  
  
"Then we will have to settle this at a later date." She handed both of them an envelope. "This is for being prefects," she said, giving Harry a particular stare. "Let us go to the Great Hall. We should be there just in time for the end of the sorting."  
  
Special Thanks.  
  
Saffron Halifax again for your most recent review. It's okay, I miss stuff all the time myself. I thought I might warn you that the rate that I've been putting up these chapters is quite fast for me. I can do it only because I have them written already. At some point, I'll have to slow down and start writing again, but hopefully it won't slow things down TOO much. Hope you (and all my other readers) enjoy this most recent installment! 


	10. Another Dream

A/N - It gets a little gruesome towards the end. I'm glad I gave the story a PG-13 rating. You have been warned.  
  
Chapter Nine - Another Dream  
  
Professor McGonagall was right. As Harry and Hermione sat down at their table, the last student was sitting on the stool.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF," the hat yelled, and the table on the other end of the hall cheered. The girl sat down, smiling at the students around her.  
  
Professor Flitwick did not remove the stool and hat like he usually did at that time. Instead, Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome to our new first years, and welcome back to our returning students," he said. All the students in the hall cheered, as though it was a good thing to return to school. Harry was one of the few people who actually believed it.  
  
"Yes, yes," Dumbledore said, trying to quiet the students. "As you may have expected, we have an addition to our staff this year. I believe all of you, except the first years, can tell not only who, but what they will be teaching." Dumbledore smiled. Harry had been to the school for four years, and had four different Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers. This year would make his fifth for both.  
  
Harry scanned the teachers' table to see who the new teacher was. He saw many familiar faces, including Professors Flitwick, Snape, Hagrid, McGonagall, Sprout, and Sinistra. There were a few that Harry knew only by face, since there were a few classes he didn't take. He didn't see Professor Trelawney, but she had previously said that she didn't like being in large groups. She prefered to stay up in her tower and predict people's death, especially Harry's.  
  
Harry then saw the new teacher. It was a girl, and she stood up after a motion from Dumbledore. She was quite young, probably in her early twenties. She looked like she just got out of wizarding college. Other than that, she looked ordinary enough. She wore plain black robes with a blue- green scarf on her neck. It looked more like a piece of cloth cut into a rectangle than a true scarf, but it matched the color of her eyes. Her hair was blonde, and her smile was pleasant.  
  
"This is Professor Foulardoeil, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year. Or longer, if we set a new trend." Many of the students laughed, and even a few of the teachers.  
  
"We will also have a student teacher this year. We usually do not have student teachers, but she specifically asked for Hogwarts. Assisting with our Transfiguration classes will be Fleur Delacour. Most of you will remember her as a participant of the Triwizard Tournament from Beauxbatons last year."  
  
Harry looked to see Fleur sitting next to Professor McGonagall. She briefly stood up. Harry remembered her saying that she wanted to get a job at Hogwarts to improve her English. Fleur waved to Harry, and he waved back. Ron was staring at Fleur, and Harry remembered how she was part veela.  
  
"We also have one more new person this year. We have a new student." Dumbledore motioned to a girl standing next to him, which Harry hadn't noticed before. She wore the standard Hogwarts uniform, and she had a camera around her neck. She wore a black bandana over her hair, but Harry could see that her hair was a dark red.  
  
"This is Celina Doalus," Dumbledore introduced. Celina nodded slightly, but looked like she would rather be hiding in a corner or something. Celina walked around the table, and to the stool. She picked up the Sorting Hat, sat down, and placed the hat on her head.  
  
The whole hall sat in compete silence for almost two minutes before the hat shouted out, "SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table cheered, and Celina went to sit down with them.  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "I believe almost everything is in order, then. Just a few notices to our new students, and reminders to our older ones. The forest on the grounds is called the Forbidden Forest, and it is by no coincidence that it is forbidden to all students." Many students chuckled.  
  
"No magic is to be used between classes in the hallways, and for those interested, Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. If you wish for more details about tryouts, you should contact Madame Hooch."  
  
Dumbledore continued to smile at the students. With a twinkle in his eyes, he concluded, "That will be all. Now, let us enjoy the feast!"  
  
With that, the golden plates that filled the tables were suddenly piled with food. As Harry and his fellow students ate, Harry opened his envelope. It didn't have a whole lot. It just told him that the password to the Gryffindor common room was "cattail." It also gave directions to the Prefect Meeting Room, along with the password. The first meeting was on the third at seven thirty in the evening.  
  
The password reminded Harry about Yllier. He picked up the cat's basket, and petted his small pet. He wondered what kind of test of loyalty there would be. Whatever it was, he didn't have much time to prepare his two pets for it. And if they weren't loyal to him, what could he do? What WOULD he do?  
  
After thinking, Harry thought it would be best to send Hedwig to somebody for the year. But that wouldn't be fair to his owl. She was his first pet, and she would always be his pet. He couldn't just send her away like that. She would probably hate him. She was already a little angry for having her stay at Hermione's for the summer.  
  
On the other hand, he couldn't abandon his little kitten, either. Yllier barely knew him, and you couldn't just dump a kitten on somebody for the school year.  
  
"So," Ron said, interrupting Harry thoughts, "what do you think's with our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?"  
  
Harry looked at Ron, having no idea what kind of answer he wanted. "You know, we've had somebody that was a host for You-Know-Who, a total fake, a werewolf, and a Death Eater in the disguise of an Auror," Ron explained. "What do you think will be with our teacher this year?"  
  
"Dunno," Harry said. "She doesn't LOOK like there's anything with her. I suppose we'll have to wait until we have class to see. But, who knows? Maybe Dumbledore chose a good teacher for once."  
  
Ron shrugged. Noticing Harry's badge for the first time, he said, "You didn't tell me you're a prefect."  
  
"Oh, sorry Ron. I just remembered how Percy seemed to brag about it, and I was trying to find a way to say it without sounding like I'm bragging." Harry looked apologetically at his friend.  
  
"I understand Harry, but it'd be nice if you told me. All you had to do was say it once, and that's it. I mean, once and only once. Percy said it a million times, that's what bugged me." Ron looked over at Hermione. "I see she's one, too. Say, weren't you two supposed to be in the front two compartments? Aren't they reserved for prefects?"  
  
"They might have been, but so? Why would we go there if we can't be with you?"  
  
"You guys are great friends. I tell you, Percy wouldn't even have any friends that weren't prefects, let alone choose to sit with them instead of with the prefects. Where would I be without you guys?"  
  
Harry smiled. "I hope you never find out, Ron."  
  
"I hope so too, Harry."  
  
By then, the desserts had cleared, and it was time for everybody to go to their common rooms. Harry, Hermione, and the other four prefects, were put in the leadership role.  
  
"New Gryffindors, this way, please," one boy said. Harry and Hermione went to join him, while the other three stayed to the back to take care of any laggers. Together, the three of them led their way up to the Gryffindor common room on the seventh floor. When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, the boy stepped aside, allowing Harry to be in front. He figured that the boy wanted to "share the wealth," or something like that.  
  
"Cattail," Harry said, so that all of the other Gryffindors, new and old alike, could hear him. The Fat Lady's portrait swung forward, and Harry led the group into the common room.  
  
Hermione took the chance to be the leader. "This," she said dramatically, "is the Gryffindor common room. Only Gryffindors are allowed in, so be sure to keep the password a secret. The boys' dormitories are through the door on the left, and the girls' are through the door on the right." She led the way for the girls, while Harry and the seventh year led the way for the boys.  
  
Harry and the four other fifth year Gryffindor boys entered their dormitory, and it was like returning home after a long trip for Harry. The five four-poster bed with red, velvet curtains were there, just as Harry remembered them. All their trunks were in the room, brought up by house elves, no doubt.  
  
The house elves reminded Harry of how obsessed Hermione was with giving house elves rights and salaries last year. As he took the top completely off Yllier's basket (it was partially open so Yllier could begin to learn where everything was), Harry also remembered her club, the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, or S.P.E.W. He desperately hoped that she had forgotten all about it.  
  
On the other hand, Harry made a mental note to remember to visit Dobby in the kitchens. Dobby was a house elf who had tried to save Harry's life by nearly killing him in his second year. Dobby had, however, saved Harry some serious humiliation by giving Harry a way to go underwater to rescue Ron during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament last year. Even if it wasn't really Dobby's idea, Harry was grateful.  
  
Harry changed into his pajamas, and got in bed. Yllier, having examined every bit of the room he could fit into (which was pretty much everything), jumped onto the bed and curled up on Harry's feet. Harry had noticed that his small kitten like sleeping on his feet or on his legs.  
  
That night, Harry had another dream.  
  
**********  
  
Harry found himself inside a small room. There were two other people there, both in their early thirties. They stood looking at a simmering cauldron.  
  
"You first," one said. The other man nodded. He put his right arm on a cutting board. The first man held up a knife. Looking at it catch light from the moon for a moment, he quickly brought it down, cutting off the hand of the other man.  
  
Harry almost screamed, but caught himself. It wasn't until a moment later that he remembered that nobody would hear him.  
  
The man who lost his hand picked up the severed hand with his still attached left one. Amazingly, his right arm was not bleeding. He tossed his hand into the cauldron, which hissed.  
  
The man who still had both his hands placed his own right arm on the board. Harry knew what would happen, but couldn't move.  
  
"It's too bad I'm right-handed," the man with only a left hand said.  
  
The other man laughed. "If I didn't trust you, I would have gone first." In one swift motion, the knife was raised and brought down, severing off the hand of the waiting man. Harry recoiled, shocked and disgusted.  
  
He lifted up his right arm, inspecting the cut. "Not bad," he commented. "You were right on." He picked up his hand and tossed it in the cauldron. Harry nearly vomited. They were cutting each other's hands off, and acting as though it was no big deal.  
  
One of the men stirred the potion, while the other one got a ladle and cups. When the first man was done stirring, the other man began ladling the potion into the cups.  
  
"Remember," the other man said, "this has to be exactly even."  
  
"Oh, don't you worry," the first one said, "I wouldn't cheat you of your share." He watched himself ladle. "One for me, one for you."  
  
When he had given out the whole potion, they picked up their glasses. They looked at each other, and nodded. At the same time, they both drank their share of the potion.  
  
Harry could only imagine how nasty the potion tasted. He had thought that the Polyjuice Potion was bad enough, with only a little bit of Goyle's hair.  
  
Both men set their glasses down at the same time. A bright green glow came from where they used to have hands. To Harry's amazement, he watched as the hands grew back. The two men watched, not really surprised by the result. The each held up their right hand, and put them together.  
  
They smiled at each other. When they put their hands down, one commented, "Well, we're halfway done."  
  
The other one thought for a moment. "Yes, we are. And that was the easy half." Harry couldn't even imagine what the other half would be.  
  
As the two men began to laugh, or more appropriately, cackle, Harry's scar began to hurt. Not badly, probably only half of what it usually was. But then, everything around Harry began to fade.  
  
**********  
  
Harry realized that the pain must have been what woke him up. It wasn't that bad, though. He could feel a cold sweat on his face. Harry sat up, and realized that Yllier was still on his feet. He gently picked up the kitten and placed him down, not on his feet. Harry got out of bed, and went to the window. Everybody else in the dorm was sound asleep.  
  
Harry remembered that Sirius told him that if his scar every hurt, he should go talk to Professor Dumbledore. Harry didn't think it was appropriate at this time. It was probably two in the morning, and Dumbledore would be fast asleep. It didn't even hurt that badly. Yawning, Harry got back into bed. He decided that he would consider it in the morning.  
  
Special Thanks.  
  
To Saffron Halifax again. What more can I say? 


	11. The Test Begins

Chapter Ten - The Test Begins  
  
By the next morning, Harry had forgotten all about the dream. He was so happy to be back at school, which felt like home, that he forgot nearly everything that had happened the day before.  
  
He went down to the Great Hall, leading a few first years with him. When he got there, Hermione and Ron were already there. They were looking over their schedules together.  
  
"Double Potions with Slytherin, figures," Ron said. They had had double Potions with Slytherin since they had been attending Hogwarts.  
  
Harry pulled out his own schedule. He really didn't need to, since he had the exact same one as Ron. "We've got double Care of Magical Creatures, too."  
  
Ron nodded. "I can't believe Hagrid wants the biting book again this year. When he didn't use it last year, I thought he'd given up on it."  
  
"Usually," Hermione joined in, "I'd support any book. But a book that bites is not much use to anybody. Even if it does open when you stroke it on the spine."  
  
"What else have we got?" Harry asked. He was just looking at his schedule for the first time.  
  
"The usual," Ron replied. "Transfiguration, Herbology, Astronomy, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Charms, and History of Magic. If we could drop some of those classes, I would have done so. The only one we can drop is divination, and that's easy to pass, so why bother?"  
  
Hermione gave Ron a cross look. Harry spoke up, "Yeah, it's easy, if you pretend to see death omens, or something to that effect. Oh, and you have to try not to laugh at everything she says."  
  
"So," Hermione said, "what do you guys want to do today? You know, since it's Friday, and classes don't start until Monday."  
  
Neither of them got to answer because Professor McGonagall approached them, with Hedwig following her. "Harry, it's time. You and your cat will follow me."  
  
Harry cursed silently, because he had hoped for a little more time before the test. He followed McGonagall, with Yllier at his heels. They went to an empty classroom.  
  
In the back was a statue of a phoenix. Professor McGonagall tapped an outstretched wing with her wand and said, "Nolox." The phoenix bent down, with its wings out as far as they could go. There was an opening behind it. Professor McGonagall walked up the phoenix's back like it was a ramp, and went in the hole. Harry followed.  
  
"Owls that are sold to be mail carriers to the public are, as a rule, trained to be loyal to a point. The result of testing your owl will be at a certain point or above. Owls, therefore, are considered to automatically pass the test with a bare minimum. Whether you may keep them both or not will depend on your cat's results. If you cat also reaches the bare minimum, it will not be enough.  
  
"The general goal is for you two to touch each other. Harry, you will always use the door on the right, and your cat will always use the door on the left. One way walls will be partially invisible, and will generally signify who needs to go where. Floors that glow green mean that one error will automatically end the test. At any time, you can quit. All you have to do is say so, and the test will end. Now, if you are ready."  
  
Harry nodded. He bent down to talk to his kitten. "Let me know if things get too hard, okay? You always go in the left door." Yllier meowed, showing that he understood.  
  
"One more thing, Harry. I'll need your wand." Harry regretfully handed his wand to McGonagall.  
  
Harry looked at the wall. There were two door frames, but there was total darkness on the other side. He looked to Yllier, and nodded. They both walked into total darkness.  
  
**********  
  
The first thing Harry saw was that the floor was glowing green. The second thing that he noticed was that there were a hundred Ylliers. There was a ten by ten grid of cats. "I think this is a test to see if I can pick out which of you is the real Yllier."  
  
He thought for a moment. "Well, let's do a little testing. Yllier, please meow." At the same time, all of the cats meowed. It was almost creepy, and the sound echoed off the walls. "Okay, Yllier, please meow once for every FULL year I have gone to Hogwarts." Every cat meowed four times, all at the same time.  
  
"This is getting me nowhere," Harry muttered to himself. He decided to watch the cats, to see if maybe the fake ones didn't act like Yllier. This backfired on him, because every cat did the same thing, at the exact same time.  
  
This gave Harry an idea. "Yllier, take one step to your left." All the cats took one step to their left. "Yllier, walk to a specific point, preferably one behind you." All of the cats walked diagonally backwards.  
  
Harry knew how to solve the test. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a knut. He walked into the grid, and put the knut down. Then, he walked out of the grid. "Yllier, please sit on the knut," he said.  
  
Sure enough, all of the cats moved in the same direction and sat, but only one of them sat on the knut. Harry walked over to the cat that sat on the knut, and looked down at it. The cat walked up to Harry and began rubbing on him. All of the other cats disappeared, but the one rubbing Harry was still there. Harry pet Yllier, and picked up his knut.  
  
"From now one, one meow is yes, and two meows is no, okay?" Harry asked. Yllier meowed once. "Are you ready to move on?" he asked. Yllier meowed once.  
  
"Okay then," Harry said. He walked up to the door on the right, and Yllier went to the left one. Again, Harry could see nothing but blackness. He nodded, and they both entered.  
  
When Harry could see, it was much like the first room. The floor was glowing green, but this time, Harry could see that there was a hundred of him. He opened his mouth to start telling Yllier where he was, but he couldn't. He tried to walk to Yllier, but couldn't.  
  
"Yllier, I think you have to do this on your own. There's something that's stopping me from telling you what to do," all the Harrys said.  
  
Yllier gave one meow, and walked close to the first Harry of the grid. Yllier looked up, but Harry didn't move. Yllier moved on to the next Harry, who also didn't move. It was tedious, because Harry was on the other side of the grid. But when Yllier came up to the real Harry, he nodded and bent down to pet Yllier.  
  
Like before, all the other Harrys vanished. "What a smart cat you are," Harry told Yllier. "You thought of that so quick. I hadn't even thought of that." It just occurred to Harry that if either of them had touched the wrong other one, it would have been the end for them  
  
Yllier purred. They walked to the appropriate doors, and without even needing to nod, they both entered.  
  
Harry was a bit puzzled. The first two rooms hadn't been a test of loyalty, at least for him and Yllier. It was more like a puzzle. All he had to do was find a solution that worked. He was sort of hoping the rest would be different, because he wasn't very good a puzzles.  
  
The room Harry had walked into reminded him of the first two. The floor was still green, and there were a bunch of cats that looked like Yllier. Only this time, they were all independent of each other.  
  
"Well," Harry said, mostly to himself, "this makes things a little more interesting." To Harry's relief, there was only about thirty cats this time. That was twenty-nine more than he wanted, but better than a hundred.  
  
"Okay," Harry said, this time to all the cats, "please made a single file line." Harry knew that the only way he could do this was to ask the cats questions. Questions that only Yllier would know the answer to.  
  
The problem was that the type of questions he could ask was limited. He could only ask yes or no questions, or questions that dealt with numbers. That meant it was practically multiple choice. At that rate, some of the cats could guess and get the questions right. He figured that it would be best if he asked number questions.  
  
He looked at the cats. "I will ask you a question, and I would like you to answer me. After you answer, I will ask you to go to either the left or the right. After all of you have had a question, I will give more directions."  
  
To the first cat, he asked, "How many OTHER people live in our dorm room?" The cat meowed five times. It was incorrect. There were only four other people. "To the left, please."  
  
To the next cat, he asked, "How old am I?" The cat meowed sixteen times. Harry was almost flattered, but he was only fifteen. "To the left, please."  
  
The third cat approached, and Harry asked, "How many good friends do I have?" The cat meowed five times. Harry might have wished it was true in his first year, but he was happy with the two good friends he had. "To the left, please."  
  
A fourth cat walked up. Harry asked, "How many inches is my wand?" The cat meowed eleven times. Harry knew that the answer was correct. "To the right, please."  
  
And so he continued, until all thirty cats had been given a question. When he finished, there were twenty-three cats on the left, and seven on the right. "Okay, will the cats on the right go into the back right corner?" They did so. "Now, I would like the cats on the left to make another single file line." Harry didn't want the cats to catch on, in case they might try to cheat. So, he asked all the cats that had gotten their question wrong another question. If they got it wrong, they went to the upper left corner. Those who got it wrong went to the upper right corner. Eighteen of them ended up getting it wrong, and five had it right.  
  
He then turned to the cats that had gotten their first question right. "Now, will you please make a single file line?" he asked. And he asked them more questions. This time, however, the questions were made so that a random guess had less chance of being correct. The two cats that got it right were directed to the back left corner, and the five that had it wrong were directed to the back right corner.  
  
"Now, will the cats that are in the upper right corner please join the cats in the back right corner?" They did so. "I would like to question those cats in the upper left corner again." By this point, Harry was running out of questions. To these cats, he asked questions that Yllier wouldn't know anyway, since he wasn't one of these cats. The fourteen that got it wrong returned to the corner, and the other four went to the upper right corner.  
  
He then questioned the ten cats in the back right corner, which were one for two on their questions. Again, he asked them questions that Yllier wouldn't know. Eight of them got it wrong, and went to the upper right corner. The other two returned to the back right corner.  
  
Harry turned to the two cats that had correctly answered their first two questions. He pulled out the knut from his pocket, along with a sickle. He said to the two cats, "If there are a hundred of you in a room, will you stand, sit, or lay on the sickle or the knut?" One cat's tail flicked excitedly.  
  
Harry pointed to the other cat. "You first, please demonstrate what you would do." The cat sat on the sickle. Harry nodded, and the cat stood up. "And now you," he said to the other. It sat on the knut. Without hesitation, Harry bent down and picked up the cat.  
  
All the other cats faded away, and Harry was left with Yllier in his arms. Harry nearly wept into his cat's fur. Picking up his money, Harry said, "When I first saw what the challenge was, I wasn't sure I was EVER going to figure out which one was you." Yllier just purred.  
  
They walked through the doors that had appeared. Again, the floor was glowing green, and there was a bunch of Harrys. Yllier would have to choose the right Harry, while only being able to meow.  
  
A/N - A bit unrealistic, I understand, but I don't think it's that far from the Harry Potter realm. J.K. has portrayed all of her cats as very intelligent. Most obviously is Mrs. Norris. Not only does she know her way around Hogwarts, including the secret passages, but she can recognize when a student is breaking a rule. And to then fetch Filch, that requires intelligence to process all of that information. Then, there was Crookshanks, who could tell an animagus from a true animal. But most importantly is Professor McGonagall. She possesses the qualities that define J.K.'s view on cats, as she can become one. She is strict, but fair, intelligent, and above all, cares very deeply for those around her, colleagues and students alike. And when these people are threatened, you can depend on her to protect these people. The way I interpret things, it is no coincidence the Professor McGonagall is head of Gryffindor house, and that the Gryffindor mascot is a lion.  
  
Special Thanks.  
  
Special thanks to Saffron Halifax.again. I'm glad you love it, and it's great to see some familiar names on the list of reviews, because it means that you liked it enough to read more, and that's always a good sign.  
  
Special thanks to Cooper (A.K.A. Xanth). I'm not sure I'm THAT good of a writer but it's great to know you think so. I hope you like this chappie and those that follow just as much.  
  
Special thanks to Serry. I know, it was kind of gross. But I'm glad you liked it anyway. So far, there's nothing else in this story quite as gruesome, but if there is I'll warn you in an author's note. 


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